Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and general secretary Amar Singh on Wednesday went to an undisclosed place for a briefing by National Security Adviser M K Narayanan on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Yadav and Singh went from the latter's residence for the briefing even as media persons were prevented by police from chasing them.
Narayanan was to brief them on the salient features of the nuclear deal in an effort to convince them that the agreement is in the interest of the country.
The government decided to brief the SP leaders after they claimed that they did not know any 'new' detail of the nuclear deal and hence could not decide whether or not to support the UPA on it.
SP has 39 members in Lok Sabha and they would be crucial for the government's survival if the Left parties carry out their threat to withdraw support over the deal.
Meanwhile, revolt brewed in the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday when one of its Muslim lawmakers came out openly against his party's support to the Indo-US nuclear deal, calling it anti-Muslim.
At a press conference in Lucknow, Munawwar Hasan, lawmaker from Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh, and party legislator Gauri Shankar claimed that there were at least 10 like-minded lawmakers who would vote against the deal defying even a party whip.
They were joined by a legislator of Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal, Qadir Rana of Gohana seat in Muzaffarnagar, who also protested against moves by his party to support the deal.
"The deal is anti-Muslim and we will oppose it tooth and nail. There are atleast 10 MPs, who are in touch with us. We will vote against the party whip to protest nuclear deal with US, if needed," Hasan and Shankar said.
SP, which has 39 members in the Lok Sabha, is being wooed by the Congress for help in the Lok Sabha in case of a trial of strength if the Left parties withdraw support to the UPA government.