In the midst of acrimony over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] skirted the issue in his Independence Day address on Wednesday.

Dr Singh, who has been attacked by Left allies and the opposition, made no mention of the issue that has generated much political heat over the last few days.

The four Left parties, which are providing crucial outside support to the government, have rejected the nuclear deal and demanded that it should not be operationalised.

Dr Singh has, however, made it clear that there is no going back on the agreement. He insisted in Parliament that the deal was good for India and all rights, including testing of atomic device, were preserved.

There was also no reference to Indo-Pak relations in Dr Singh's address from the Red Fort [Images] even though he talked about New Delhi's desire to have "best of relations" with all the neighbours.

Assuring the neighbours that India wanted peace with them, he said, "I sincerely believe that in the prosperity and well-being of our neighbours lies the key to our own security and progress."

Without naming any country, Dr Singh said India wants good relations with all other nations, big and small, countries in the east, west, north and south.