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Wednesday, May 21, 2008
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Fate of nuclear deal in hands of Left: Minister

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: Union Minister of State for Commerce Ashwani Kumar on Tuesday acknowledged that the fate of the controversial India-U.S. nuclear deal was now in the hands of the Left parties. Though their opposition to it was “incomprehensible” the government had no intention of bypassing them, he said.

While insisting that it was the “best negotiated” deal and had “overwhelming” public support, Dr. Kumar made clear that the government would not push it through unless all its allies agreed on it.

Was there any prospect at all of the deal being signed during the current term of the Bush administration and in accordance the timetable set by Americans? “Whether it will happen or not, I can’t say. I hope that the government interlocutors will be able to persuade our allies,” Dr. Kumar said.

He expected the situation to become clearer after the next meeting of the United Progressive Alliance’s Coordination Committee scheduled for May 28.

The sense in Indian diplomatic circles is that if the deal is not finalised by June, it is likely to go into deep-freeze because of the tight American congressional timetable ahead of the Presidential elections in November.

Shrugging off the tough American rhetoric on the issue, Dr. Kumar denied that Americans warned that if India did not sign the deal now Washington might pull out.

“There is no now-or-never scenario but in my personal opinion this is the best negotiated deal,” he said. Dr. Kumar, who is here to take part in a series of economic events and deliver the Nehru Memorial lecture, admitted that the government was “concerned” about the price situation and its impact on public opinion but said: “We have put every single measure in place to ensure that inflation is moderated.”

As a result of these measures, the government expected the inflation to come down from its current level of 7.4 per cent to about 6 per cent over the next 12 weeks.

Addressing the India Investors’ Summit organised by the Financial News in association with the Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal, Dr. Kumar highlighted India’s continuing economic growth, pointing out that foreign direct investment in 2007-08 had touched the $25 billion mark.

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