The Hindu : Front Page : Deal may be delayed: Mulford

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Saturday, Oct 07, 2006
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Deal may be delayed: Mulford

Amit Baruah

Says "we are hopeful"

NEW DELHI: There might be a delay in the passage of legislation in the U.S. Congress on civilian nuclear cooperation with India, U.S. Ambassador to India David Mulford told a press conference here on Friday.

While it was expected that a "lame duck" Congress session, after the November 7 polls, would clear the legislation, Mr. Mulford said the India-specific amendments might or might not be taken up by the Senate.

Reconciling differences

Other than the passage of the legislation by the Senate (the House of Representatives has given assent to its own Bill), a "conference" to reconcile the differences between the two Bills would have to be scheduled, he said.

The conference "reconciliation" would then go back to the two Houses as a "report" and be conveyed onwards for signature by President George W. Bush before January 1, 2007.

If this process did not take place in the short time available for the "lame duck" session, the whole process would have to begin anew in Congress next year.

"We are hopeful. We know that there will be an effort made. But we are not sure it will be successful," Mr. Mulford said, preparing the ground for possible delays in the passage of the amending legislation.

Shashi Tharoor issue

Asked whether the U.S. did not veto the candidature of Shashi Tharoor for U.N. Secretary-General, he said: "I didn't say that because the voting is a secret process."

On the remarks made by the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Ryan Crocker, that New Delhi should not make public the allegations relating to terrorism against Islamabad, Mr. Mulford felt that the remarks made by his counterpart in Islamabad were not correctly reported.

Sale of F-16s

On sale of F-16s to Pakistan, he said this was not a "major disruptive issue" between India and the U.S., and quoted approvingly Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi's remark that he was not concerned at the deal.

"We've kept India informed every step of the way before the [F-16s] decision was made, at the time the decision was made. In 2005, the [U.S.] Secretary of State [Condoleezza Rice] came out to consult on that issue," he said.

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