Govt ready to discuss N-deal in Parliament: Pranab

Rejecting the Opposition demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to go into the Indo-US nuclear deal, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the government was ready for a discussion on Thursday in Rajya Sabha and on Monday in Lok Sabha.

"We are ready for the debate.  But the Opposition has to allow," he told media persons referring to the repeated adjournment of the two Houses in the current monsoon session.

Mukherjee, who is also the Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha, said the government was for a debate at the earliest opportunity and has suggested these dates.

On the Opposition demand for a JPC, he said the government had already rejected the proposal on the floor of the House.

Protesting against the setting up of the UPA-Left Committee to go into concerns arising out of the deal, the Opposition parties disrupted both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday demanding its scrapping and constitution of a JPC.

The government, the minister said, was ready for a dialogue with the Opposition on the nuclear deal.

"We are ready to discuss with them (the NDA) also. The prime minister had called them.  If they want to seek clarifications, we are ready to give," he said.

There is no time-frame for the UPA-Left committee on the deal, but we have to work as expeditiously as we can, he said.

Mukherjee said the prime minister may intervene in the debate on the nuclear deal if the situation demanded so.      

"It depends on the situation," he said.

Earlier, CPI-M Politburo member Sitaram Yechury met Mukherjee and demanded a discussion on the civilian nuclear deal in Parliament.

"There should be a discussion on the deal in Parliament. We cannot accept a situation where there is no discussion on the deal," Yechury told media persons.

Asked about the speculation in the corridors of Parliament on an early adjournment of the session, Yechury said: "I do not anticipate a sine die adjournment."

He attacked the opposition NDA for repeated adjournment of the proceedings of both Houses.

"We are extremely disturbed by the NDA. This degree of degeneration did not ever exist," he said.