The Left parties on Sunday pressed the United Progressive Alliance government to give a clear-cut response on whether the Indo-US nuke deal is off or on hold at the crucial meeting of their joint panel on Monday so as to clear the clouds of mid-term poll.

On the eve of the fifth meeting of the UPA-Left joint committee on the deal, the Communist Party of India-Marxist added to the woes of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] hoping to find a way out by demanding that the pact be put on hold till the new US administration assumes office when the Bush term ends late 2008.

"We do not know what exactly the UPA will tell us. But what we expect is that they should clearly say that the deal is off or that it has been put on hold. Only then the threat of a mid-term poll will end," CPI general secretary A B Bardhan told PTI.

Senior CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechury shared Bardhan's sentiments when he told PTI the Left parties were expecting the government's final stand on the nuclear deal to be announced at Monday's meeting.

Yechury told a news conference in Bangalore "We are saying wait. What's the hurry. You (UPA) wait till the new administration in the US comes. Let's see what's their attitude towards the whole thing; then you proceed."

"It's an international norm that whenever there is an anticipated change in government, you don't enter into international treaties," he said adding, it was clear that there would be a change in administration in the US in 2008, with President George W Bush [Images] completing his eight-year term.

Yechury said the joint panel is expected to have many more meetings and will come out with its report after Diwali, which falls on November 9.

Monday's meeting will be the first after Dr Singh last Thursday spoke of not giving up "hope" and that a way out will have to be found.