New Delhi: Ahead of the crucial UPA-Left Committee meeting on Indo-US nuclear deal tomorrow, Congress has said it was "not panicky" about the outcome and the Left parties are "friends".

"We have every reason to expect that the meeting goes through smoothly. We are not panicky. After all they are our friends," AICC Media Department Chairman M Veerappa Moily told reporters.

The Congress has never been apprehensive about the Left, he said, adding "When we can manage four years, managing one more year is not a problem." During the meeting, the government is expected to hand over the Left leaders copies of the draft India-specific safeguards agreement it has reached with the global nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The meeting comes in the backdrop of major Left parties asserting that they would withdraw support to the Congress-led government if it went ahead with the nuclear deal with the US.

Source : PTI