New Delhi, Mar 10: The UPA-Left committee on the Indo-US nuclear deal will meet here on March 17 in the face of an ultimatum by the Government's Communist allies to make its stand clear on the controversial agreement. The Government is likely to present the draft of the India-specific Safeguards Agreement reached with the IAEA at the meeting, which comes at a time when there is a further strain in UPA-Left ties. The showdown between the two sides came to a head last week when CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan made it clear that the Left parties would withdraw support to the government if it goes ahead with the deal.

The Left, which provides crucial outside support for the Government, has put it under renewed pressure by setting a March 15 deadline to explain whether it intended to proceed with the controversial nuclear deal or drop it. CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat last week shot off a letter to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the government's key interlocutor with the allies on the deal, asking that the meeting be convened by March 15. His party had also sent an ominous warning that the future of the government depends on the decision it will take on Washington's "pressure" to conclude the agreement. The UPA-Left committee had earlier allowed the Government to hold negotiations with the IAEA on the condition that it should come back to the committee once the negotiations are over to apprise it of the progress. The safeguards agreement, alongwith the NSG waiver, is a prerequisite to operationalise the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.