Indian Govt close to end rift over US nuke deal

NEW DELHI—India’s government said Friday it was moving ahead with a contentious nuclear energy deal with the United States after reaching what appeared to be a compromise with its communist allies.
The dispute over the deal had threatened to push India into early elections with left-wing allies of the dominant Congress party threatening to withdraw their support for the coalition in parliament.
But after the latest round of sensitive talks with left-wing parties, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the government could now move ahead and enter into talks with the UN’s atomic energy watchdog.
“The government will proceed with the talks (with the IAEA) and the outcome will be presented to the (coalition) committee for its consideration before it finalises the findings,” the foreign minister told reporters. “The findings of the committee will then be taken into account before the operationalisation of the India-US civil nuclear cooperation agreement,” he added
The nuclear deal was struck by Indian Premier Singh and US President George W. Bush in March 2005, and would give New Delhi access to civilian nuclear technology even though it has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). But in order to implement it, India must first strike a separate accord with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on safeguards and inspections.
India’s communists had previously threatened to bring down the government if any such talks went ahead, but in recent days have appeared more open to compromise — albeit while maintaining their power to veto the deal later on if they chose to.
Indian left-wingers continue to argue the pact could restrict the domestic nuclear weapons programme. They also fear India’s longstanding position as a non-aligned nation will be compromised. Leftist leaders such as A.B. Bardhan, who attended the meeting with Singh, sounded cautious when asked by reporters if talks with the watchdog was a tacit acceptance of the controversial deal by the communists.
“No, it (the IAEA talks) will go stage by stage,” said Bardhan, general secretary of the Communist Party of India.
India’s communist parties allowed the government on Friday to start crucial talks with a U.N. watchdog needed to clinch a nuclear deal with the United States, reviving hope over the fate of the controversial pact.
“The government will proceed with the talks and the outcome will be presented to the committee for its consideration before it finalises its findings,” a statement issued by a joint panel of communist and ruling coalition leaders said.—Agencies