New Delhi, Dec. 2: A Union minister has publicly admitted that the government’s survival had become uncertain during the nuclear deal deadlock.

Panchayati raj minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, however, added that the danger had now passed.

The admission came on the sidelines of a programme at which Aiyar said the “panchayati raj rally” scheduled for December 22-23 had not been cancelled but put off till April 24 next year.

“Let me tell you frankly, we thought at one stage there was uncertainty as to how long the government would remain in office,” he told PTI.

“Since the uncertainty has now passed, we have got some space to extend the rally to April 24 to coincide with Panchayati Raj Divas.”

Aiyar’s assertion that the crisis had blown over comes following the Left’s green light to the government to start talks with atomic watchdog IAEA for an India-specific safeguards agreement.

Aiyar dismissed reports that the cabinet had jeopardised the two-day rally by refusing to sanction the funds. He said his ministry had on its own deferred the event.

“The fact of the matter is that the note prepared by the ministry... was withdrawn before being submitted for discussion before the Union cabinet. It was not even discussed at the cabinet meeting,” the minister said.

“I am writing to the states that at (the) state level they might celebrate the 15th anniversary of the constitutional amendments that brought the current local government system into being.”

Aiyar added that local self-government had been the nation’s biggest achievement in the past 60 years and needed to be played up.