NEW DELHI, 29 July 2007 — Prime Minister Manmohan Singh briefed his party stalwarts yesterday evening on India-US civilian nuclear deal at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC). This was the CWC’s first meeting after the finalization of the bilateral nuclear agreement between India and United States a week ago in Washington. The prime minister is expected to present the deal in Parliament on the first day of the monsoon session (Aug. 10). With the debate over the deal expected to be a fairly stormy one, yesterday’s CWC meeting was also called with a view to build active support within the party on the issue.
The entire week has been marked by both United States and India taking crucial steps to secure support for the deal, the draft of which has still not been made public. In an interview on television, to be broadcast this evening, National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan has stressed the fact that “personal chemistry” between Manmohan and President George W. Bush contributed to progress made on the nuclear deal. In response to a question on the Bush administration having “changed” the US law and being ready to make changes in international laws for the benefit of India alone, Narayanan said: “I think that it’s quite extraordinary and it has much to do with the personal chemistry between the president and the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. I think it’s driven by personal equation, personal chemistry, personal relationship between the two countries because I find this has been a top down effort and if finally the US Congress votes in favor of 123 (123-agreement), I think it will be quite an extraordinary achievement.”
Crediting former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for having begun the process, Narayanan said: “I think the process would never have taken off without the efforts or Prime Minister Vajpayee and his team.”
On impact the deal will have on Indo-US relationship, Narayanan said: “I think it will transform the India-US relationship to a different plane, and that depends entirely on (what) either side wants to make out of the relationship.”
At a joint news conference on Friday, Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar expressed their satisfaction with the final text of the accord. They said it was fully consistent with commitments undertaken by both countries in statements made on July 18, 2005 and March 2, 2006.
“The United States and India have reached a historic milestone in their strategic partnership by completing negotiations on the bilateral agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation, also known as the 123 agreement,” said a joint statement of Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Describing the conclusion of negotiations on the agreement as a “major step,” the statement said: “Civil nuclear cooperation between the United States and India will offer enormous strategic and economic benefits to both countries, including enhanced energy security, a more environmentally friendly energy source, greater economic opportunities, and more robust nonproliferation efforts.
“We are committed to the strategic partnership outlined by President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and look forward to working together to implement this historic initiative.”
Ruling out similar deal with any other country, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns said yesterday in Washington: “This (deal) is complicated enough, I can assure you, that the United States is not going to suggest a similar deal with any other country in the world. We’ve always felt of India as an exception.”
