With most United Progressive Alliance constituents disfavouring early polls, Congress on Friday said it wants to take the Left allies along while pushing the Indo-US nuclear deal and that there would be "no loss of face" if the agreement fails.
Insisting that the UPA government is not a "one-issue government", Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed rubbished reports about Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offering to resign over the nuclear deal in the wake of stiff opposition by the Left parties.
He said all steps involved in the nuclear deal so far have been taken with "consent" of the Left parties and the government would continue to do so in future.
"We want to keep the government intact and at the same time we want the deal also," Ahmed told reporters in Delhi as hectic parleys involving the Congress, other UPA constituents and the Left parties continued with an aim of finding an end to the deadlock over the issue.
Without spelling out the future plans, he maintained that whatever action the government takes, it will be in the national interest.
To a question, he said the nuclear deal is in the national interest and added that the government will try to take the Left parties along while pushing it.
Questioned whether it would not be a "loss of face" for the government and the Congress if the deal does not go through, Ahmed disagreed and referred to the prime minister's statement that the UPA government "is not a one-issue government."
The indication of the softening of stand by the Congress came after major UPA constituents, including Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Lok Janshakti Party told the government on Thursday that they do not want early polls and efforts should be made to end the deadlock by addressing concerns of the Left parties.
The Congress spokesman sought to play down the Left parties' threat to withdraw support, saying he did not think about such a possibility and it was a "hypothetical" matter.
Ahmed thanked the Left parties for supporting the government for four-and-a-half years and said, "It is our responsibility to take them along."
In this regard, he pointed out that the government had set up the UPA-Left committee to discuss the nuclear issue, which was not in the Common Minimum Programme.
On resolution of the issue, he pinned hopes on the June 25 meeting of the UPA-Left committee on the nuclear deal and suggested that its outcome should be awaited.
When referred to reports that the prime minister had offered to resign, Ahmed denied it and said such "speculation" should not be spread.
Ahmed said Dr Singh has full support of Congress president Sonia Gandhi as well as the party on the nuclear issue.
Justifying the nuclear deal, the Congress spokesman said it is in the interest of the country as it will help meet the energy deficit.
The country needs two lakh megawatts of power and there is a shortfall of 78,000 MW, Ahmed said, adding the nuclear deal will help generate about 16,000 MW of electricity.
"It is our responsibility to take care of their (Left) apprehensions. They have given us support for four years and now we cannot let them go just like that," a senior Congress leader said.
Another leader said the government was likely to give the Left the assurance that it would operationalise the deal only
after seeking the sense of the House and ratification by the Union Cabinet.
He played down the idea there could be a loss of face internationally if the government does not go ahead with the deal, as it is known that it is a coalition and whatever decision is taken should be with the consent of everyone.
On the record, Ahmed recalled the prime minister himself having said at the HT Summit last year that his was not a one-issue government and if the deal does not come through, it would not be the end of life.
As hectic parleys took place in the run-up to the crucial June 25 UPA-Left discussions on the nuclear deal, in another sign of softening of stand, a Congress leader said this was not necessarily the last meeting of the panel.
Lending an insight into the present political situation, he said the "sense of panic" was created as it was realised that the impression that the government got in back-channel talks with the Left of another concession from them was in fact just a "false hope."
He further said if the Left gave any concession on the deal in the June 25 meeting, it would be a "major coup".