Siddharth Varadarajan The government feels vagueness keeps international critics at bay. Following the formal withdrawal of Left support to the United Progressive Alliance, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and its three partners have issued a statement challenging the government's decision to keep the text of the safeguards agreement negotiated with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) a "secret.'

Siddharth Varadarajan New Delhi: Contrary to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's assurance that the process of finalising India's safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency would begin only after the United Progressive Alliance won a vote of confidence in Parliament, the government has given the go-ahead for the draft text to be forwarded to the Agency's Board of Governors.

Mounting possibly his strongest defence yet of the Indo-US nuclear co-operation agreement, Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar on Wednesday said India was negotiating the pact from a position of strength and called attempts to isolate the country's nuclear programme from the world "foolish'.

The CPM boss highlights denial of

K. Venugopal ASIAN GIANTS: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao arrive for the G5 meeting on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Sapporo, Japan, on Tuesday. Sapporo: On a day when the Left parties announced the withdrawal of support to the government over the nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh heard Chinese President Hu Jintao express his country's willingness to cooperate with India in developing civil nuclear energy.

Left announces withdrawal of support, to meet President today : SP makes it official: will support Govt and deal

Sapporo (Japan)- Despite the Left's decision to withdraw support to the UPA government over the nuclear deal, an unfazed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made it clear today that there was no threat to the stability of his government. In fact, he lobbied hard with leaders of China and South Korea to obtain support for India's case at the IAEA and the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

ON BOARD PM'S AIRCRAFT : Buoyed by the turn of events on the political front for the Indo-US nuclear deal, an upbeat Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today made it clear that India will go to the IAEA with the safeguards agreement "very soon' and that he did not expect elections before time. He said he had been assured that once India moves the IAEA, the remaining processes will "move fast'.

The die has been finally cast. The UPA government has decided to approach the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to finalise the India-specific Safeguards Agreement. Although there is a huge amount of support within the country for the Indo-US Nuclear Deal, one wished the government had been a little wary of some of its implications. There are several issues which needed in-depth consideration before the plunge was taken.

Even as the Indian government seemed set to move ahead with the stalled nuclear deal with the US, a top American daily has underlined there was no reason for Bush administration to rush as it had given away too much and got far too little.