NEW DELHI, 5 March 2008 — US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher reviewed the progress of the India-US nuclear deal in his discussions with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon yesterday.

Describing the deal as a symbol of transformed ties between the two countries, Boucher made it clear that time was running out. He stressed the need for India to wrap up the safeguards pact with the International Atomic Energy Agency to enable the deal’s ratification by the US Congress before the end of July.

In view of the political mood in India being fairly agitated against the deal, Boucher displayed caution in not specifying a deadline for the deal. He expressed hope that India would be able to find a way out of the impasse to take forward the nuclear deal, which would end the country’s global nuclear isolation.

In view of the concern voiced in India about the implications of the Hyde Act and the 123 Agreement regarding the deal, Boucher said: “I don’t want to go into technicalities. The Hyde Act is a domestic legislation (and) the 123 Agreement is an international agreement. I think we can move forward with both in a consistent manner.”

Boucher’s comments hold importance as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had said that the Hyde Act was central to the civil nuclear cooperation pact. Rice’s remarks prompted the left bloc and opposition parties in India to question the deal as the Hyde Act seeks to undermine India’s sovereignty and strategic deterrence.

In a bid to allay those fears, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Parliament a day ahead of Boucher’s visit that India was not bound by the Hyde Act.

“Let me take this opportunity to reiterate that the Hyde Act is an enabling provision that is between the executive and the legislative organs of the US government,” Mukherjee said. “India’s rights and obligations regarding civil nuclear cooperation with the US arise only from the bilateral 123 Agreement that we have agreed upon with the US,” he said.

During talks between Boucher and Gayatri Kumar, joint secretary in the External Affairs Ministry, the two sides discussed ways in which they could move forward on building ties.

Washington has expressed the view that India should get time to resolve internal differences on the issue. While some US legislators want India to stick to a July timeline, the Bush administration has said that it wants the deal to move forward with India getting an opportunity to work out “internal political issues.”

“We want to see this agreement concluded. We think it’s in the best interests of India, the United States, as well as in global nonproliferation efforts. But, as you know, we’ve acknowledged that there are internal political issues for the Indian government to work out, and it’s important that they have an opportunity to do so,” State Department’s deputy spokesman Tom Casey said. On whether the “now or never” warning by US lawmakers was due to an “urgency” in finalization of the nuclear deal, Casey replied: “US lawmakers speak for themselves. They have a very important role to play in this process. But when they are abroad, they are speaking in their own name as members of our legislative branch.”