'Govt hopeful about sorting out differences with Left'

HOOGHLY (WB): The government is hopeful of sorting out differences over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal with the Left parties through discussions, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Sunday.

"We are hopeful about sorting out the differences with the Left and discussions can take place at any point of time," the Leader of the House in Lok Sabha told reporters at a function in Telinipara in Hooghly.

Pointing out that the UPA was formed by secular parties to prevent communal forces from coming to power, Mukherjee said: "We (the Congress and the Left) did have our differences in the past. But all these could be sorted out."

His comments came close on the heels of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh daring the Left parties to withdraw support to his government on the civil nuclear deal. Singh, however, later said differences with the Left would be "resolved amicably" and dismissed talk of a snap poll.

The Left parties have rejected the nuclear deal with the US and asked the government not to go ahead with operationalising it.