ElBaradei makes strong pitch in India for nuke deal

NEW DELHI—The U.N. nuclear watchdog head, Mohamed ElBaradei, made a strong pitch for the India-U.S. nuclear deal on Wednesday saying it was essential for India’s economic growth, despite concerns a domestic row could scupper the pact.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief met Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee amid threats from the Indian government’s leftist allies to withdraw crucial parliamentary support if the deal, which would open international civil nuclear cooperation with India after over three decades, moves ahead.
Both sides pulled back from the brink in talks on Tuesday, easing fears of imminent elections but raising worries the government was endangering the accord with prolonged debate.
“... the agreement is something for the government to decide but as I said, I’d like to see India become a full partner in the nuclear field and I’d like to see India make use of every technology,” ElBaradei told reporters after the meeting. “Without energy, and not just nuclear energy, but all sources of energy, you will not be able to attain a 10 percent rate of growth,” he added.
On the contentious issue of India beginning talks with the IAEA for an agreement to place civilian nuclear reactors under U.N. safeguards, ElBaradei said there was “no deadline” for this. Earlier end-October was seen as an informal deadline for these talks.
The left parties have said if these talks are started — which would be the next step in what is seen as a year-long process to implement the deal — they would withdraw their support to the federal coalition, reducing it to a minority and leading to elections ahead of the 2009 schedule.
ElBaradei’s comments came a day after a government and left parties’ committee, formed to discuss the nuclear deal, met for the fourth time and decided to meet again, giving an indication the coalition has stepped back from the edge of early elections which could endanger the landmark deal. “Yesterday we saw the first sign that the election was not inevitable,” political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan said.
“The government may decide to go slow, which could put the deal in a coma.” ElBaradei is likely to call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday. Underscoring warmer India-U.S. ties, the nuclear deal, which was announced in 2005 but sealed this year, would allow India to import U.S. nuclear fuel and reactors, despite having tested nuclear weapons and not signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The communists insist the deal would make India subservient to U.S. interests, but the government has seemed determined to seal the accord, potentially its biggest foreign policy achievement. Many analysts still see a snap vote as likely which could put the deal at risk, but may not necessarily kill it.
The government can still move ahead with the agreement without parliamentary approval. But supporters say the deal must be finalized before the Bush administration comes to the end of its office. India still needs clearance from the IAEA, the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group and final approval from the U.S. Congress.
There were signs that smaller coalition parties — facing possible losses in a snap vote — were uneasy at the Congress party, which leads the ruling coalition, risking their political future on a deal surveys show is a low priority for most Indians.
Indian markets are worried the government may pass populist measures that would widen the fiscal deficit and that polls would lead to an unstable coalition. The pact has been criticized by many outside India, including some members of the U.S. Congress who say it undercuts a U.S.-led campaign to curtail the nuclear ambitions of nations like Iran.—Agencies