Hours before the crucial meeting of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday identified communalism as the biggest threat to the nation and maintained that its position on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal would remain unchanged till the government addressed all the apprehensions raised by the Left parties.

Briefing mediapersons after his hour-long meeting with National Security Adviser (NSA) M. K. Narayanan at an undisclosed location, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh said the Prime Minister should publicly address all the apprehensions raised by the Left parties on the deal. “The ball is in the Prime Minister’s court; not even in the hands of the Congress leadership. I met the NSA, not a Congress leader.”

Among the questions that the Samajwadi Party wants explained is India’s vote against Iran in the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Samajwadi Party leaders – besides Mr. Singh, Lok Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav also attended the meeting with the NSA – echoed the very same questions raised by the Left parties about the deal.

Stressing the need for the Prime Minister to clear the air over the nuclear deal, Mr. Singh said such a clarification would only raise his stature. About Thursday’s UNPA meeting, he said the Samajwadi Party would present to the other constituents of the alliance the details of the discussion with the NSA and any other communication that might be forthcoming from the government on the deal ahead of the meeting.