Subtle moves initiated by the Bush administration to nudge the Indo-US nuclear deal ahead encountered stiff resistence from the Left on Tuesday, who took strong exception to the ??interference in India?s internal matters?? and ruled out any change in their opposition to the agreement.
Terming latest moves by US diplomats to reach out to critics of the deal here as ?interference?, senior Left leaders maintained that the open lobbying amounted to breaking of all diplomatic conventions. ??The US ambassador is openly meeting Congress and BJP leaders and pressurising them to adopt their stand on the issue. The US should be ashamed of doing such things,?? CPI general secretary D Raja told FE. ??India is not a banana republic,?? he added.
In the last few days, efforts both at a formal and informal level by US diplomats have picked up pace to put the deal back on track and ensure that it does not become dead eventually. On Monday, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee got a call from US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who conveyed that the US was keen to move ahead with the deal and said she was ?still hopeful? that the agreement would go through. According to the US state department spokesperson Sean MacCormack, Rice underlined to Mukherjee ??the same points that we can continue to support the agreement, continue moving forward with the agreement??.
Following his telephonic conversation with Rice, Mukherjee held a meeting with CPI(M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury where the former is reported to have urged the Left once again to allow government to initiate formal talks with the IAEA on India specific safeguards.The CPI-M politburo is meeting in the second week of November to take stock of the situation.
US treasury sectretary Henry Paulson, on a visit to New Delhi, maintained on Tuesday that the deal would ultimately pass the Indian democratic process. ??I am an optimist. I think good ideas automatically get done,?? he said. Paulson further said that it was important to get the civil nuclear deal implemented as soon as possible because it would be good for India’s energy security and infrastructure in addition to helping the country meet the need for clean energy sources.
At another other level, former secretary of state Henry Kissinger too is also in the Capital here lobbying for early conclusion of the deal. He met BJP leaders on Monday including Opposition leader LK Advani, though he maintained that he ??did not make any particular attempt to sinfluence?? them on the deal.
Speaking at a seminar here on Tuesday, Kissinger warned that a delay could impact upon prospects of such a co-operation as the critics would be ?better organised? two years later. If the agreement is not completed during the tenure of the Bush administration, ??the new administration in 2009 will negotiate a new agreement and submit it for Congress? approval and the same steps would repeat,?? he claimed.
