NEW DELHI, July 4: India’s communist parties said the government must tell them by Monday if it plans to press ahead with the next step in a controversial civilian nuclear deal with the United States, which they strongly oppose.

Scrambling to avoid snap elections if the left withdraws support over the deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is trying to line up a regional party to secure a parliamentary majority for his Congress party-led ruling coalition.

The communists have threatened to end their backing for the government if it seeks approval for the deal from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the next international move needed to operationalise the pact.

“We wish to know definitely whether the government is proceeding to seek the approval of the safeguards agreement by the board of governors of the IAEA,” said Prakash Karat, head of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), reading out a letter addressed to the government.

“Please let us know the position by July 7, 2008.”

The communist party said it would launch a national campaign from July 14 to explain its opposition to the nuclear deal and what it called “runaway” inflation.

Singh heads to a G8 summit in Japan next week, where he will likely meet US President George Bush — the man who shook hands with Singh over the accord at the White House in 2005.

It looks increasingly likely that India’s prime minister will press ahead with the landmark accord, moving his country’s trade and diplomatic relations closer to the West.

Frustrated after four years of stymied reforms due to leftist opposition, Singh now seems to want to secure his legacy before the end of his term, even if some experts say time has run out for US Congress to pass the deal before Bush leaves office.

The result could lead to months of electioneering and political bickering just as investors are seeking tough decisions on a trillion-dollar economy that faces inflation at a 13-year high, rising interest rates and signs of an economic slowdown.

The pact, which would give India access to US nuclear fuel and technology, is potentially worth billions of dollars to US and European nuclear supplier companies and would give India more energy alternatives to drive its development.

But many Indian politicians worry the deal will compromise India’s sovereignty, and the left says it makes India a US pawn.

CRUCIAL SUPPORT: The prime minister now appears closer to winning support from the Samajwadi Party (SP), a key regional party from Uttar Pradesh state that has a history of pragmatic alliances with national parties.

On Friday, SP party leaders met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and hinted that they would approve the deal “The prime minister’s clarifications on the nuclear deal are quite satisfactory,” SP General Secretary Amar Singh told reporters after the meeting.

The political uncertainty has hit markets this week.—Reuters