India set to push nuke deal despite hurdles

NEW DELHI—India’s ruling coalition launched a fresh campaign to push a controversial nuclear deal with the United States on Saturday, a day after its communist allies revived hope over a pact they had strongly opposed. Officials said New Delhi would move immediately on the next key steps needed to close the deal as time was running out and talks with a U.N. nuclear watchdog were expected to start as early as next week.
But analysts cautioned that New Delhi still faced an uphill task, both locally as well as internationally, in building support for a historic pact that seemed doomed until this week. “This agreement will give us access to both fuel and new technology,” Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress party, told a plenary meeting, the first in nearly two years.
“This will allow several friendly countries to help us boost our power production, which is the biggest need of our farming sector, industry, villages and cities,” she said. The India-U.S. civilian nuclear cooperation agreement aims to reverse a three-decade ban on New Delhi’s access to American nuclear fuel and equipment, and has been hailed as the symbol of their new strategic friendship.
But communist allies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government have rejected it, saying it compromises India’s sovereignty and imposes Washington’s influence, and threatened to withdraw support to the coalition they shore up. However, on Friday, they softened their position after weeks of negotiations with government leaders and conditionally allowed the deal to be pursued, saying global clearances were needed for nuclear trade with nations other than the U.S. too.
Nevertheless, Singh, who officials said was “upbeat” after the communist decision, used the party plenary to hit out at critics of a deal he has sought to showcase as one of the biggest diplomatic triumphs of his government. “This propaganda that is sometimes being made that this will affect our sense of judgement and the independence of our foreign policy is equally false,” he said.
“India is too big a country, we have the heritage ... and that heritage in itself is a guarantee that nobody can bend India in any direction,” he said as supporters cheered.
India needs to conclude a safeguards agreement for its civilian nuclear reactors with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and get the backing of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group before the U.S. Congress gives a final approval to the deal.
National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan said Washington was keen that the deal reaches the U.S. Congress before February or March due to a tough legislative calendar in a presidential election year. “We had set more or less a deadline of Nov. 20 before we could go to the IAEA,” Narayanan told the Times Now TV news channel. “I am glad that our allies from the left have agreed that we can go a few days before the Nov. 20 deadline.”
Political analysts however said the uncertainty over the deal had not ended as the communists had allowed talks with the IAEA only under the condition that the government would sign the safeguards pact after the left parties approve it.
“A crucial line has been crossed but there is no great difference,” said veteran political analyst Pran Chopra. “The uncertainty is no greater or less than it was a couple of days ago.” Besides, India could also face hurdles at the NSG, where it needs unanimous approval to lift a ban on nuclear trade with New Delhi, said Robinder Sachdev, co-founder of lobby group U.S. India Political Action Committee.
“NSG exemptions are what are critical because it is at the NSG that the terms for India to procure nuclear materials will be defined,” he said, adding that the communists could still block progress after the government’s talks with the IAEA. “Though, having come so far, it can be presumed that the government will want to make a success of its engagement with the IAEA,” he said.—Agencies