Former President and scientist A P J Abdul Kalam on Thursday told top Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders that the Indo-US nuclear deal was beneficial for the country and they should keep national interest above politics while firming up their stand on the issue.

SP Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and General Secretary Amar Singh drove to Kalam's residence on Thursday evening after a meeting of UNPA where it was decided to seek the opinion of experts of eminent scientists on the issue before future course of action could be chalked out.

“India can scrap nuclear deal anytime if warranted,” Kalam told the leaders.

After more than an hour-long meeting with Kalam, Yadav told reporters that the former president told them that the deal is in national interest.

"We will inform UNPA leaders about our discussions with Kalam who is a well known and respected scientist. He is the father of nuclear technology of the country", the SP supremo said.

Earlier, the UNPA managed to put up a united face apparently persuading Samajwadi Party to hold its cards on the Indo-US nuclear deal.

After nearly four-hour-long meeting, leaders of the UNPA told a press conference that they favoured a national debate on the nuclear deal as there were many aspects that needed clarifications.

The UNPA leaders said that they were not satisfied even after clarifications issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on the deal and would consult eminent scientists before deciding their stand.

Amar Singh had said they will consult an eminent expert whose views were acceptable to the entire nation. To a question whether they would consult former President A P J Abdul Kalam, one of the UNPA leaders had remarked that Kalam was the greatest scientist.

IAEA approach may delayed

The ruling Congress was on Thursday mulling whether the government's chances of survival would brighten if the IAEA approach was delayed and parliament's monsoon session pushed to mid-August, as was already being considered in some official quarters.

Even as an endorsement of the nuclear deal by former president A P J Abdul Kalam seemed to have eased the pressure on the government to an extent on Thursday, an effort was also afoot to delink the forthcoming G-8 summit from finalising the nuclear accord and focus more on climate change.

Party sources said that there was a suggestion to approach the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in August and also push the monsoon session, usually held in the third week of July, by some weeks to avert an immediate separation from the Left parties.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi will soon meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to discuss the suggestions before taking a final decision, the sources added.

By delaying approach to the IAEA, the Congress may give the Left parties the excuse not to withdraw their support to the UPA government immediately and also have the requisite time to enlist support from the 39-member Samajwadi Party and some others to survive in the event a no-confidence motion was moved in parliament.