NEW DELHI, 12 October 2007 — Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday met UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed El-Baradei and explained to him the complex political situation that has forced the government to put safeguards negotiations with the IAEA on hold — a key step toward implementing the India-US nuclear deal.
Manmohan, however, hinted that after extensively discussing the deal with the Left parties, the government would take a political call on beginning negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an official source said.
Appreciating the government’s circumspect attitude toward IAEA negotiations, El-Baradei made it clear that clinching a safeguards agreement would not be difficult given India’s past record of dealing with IAEA. El-Baradei has left it to Manmohan to decide timing of negotiations with IAEA, saying he would wait for the political dust to settle before India approaches the UN agency.
The meeting with Manmohan was preceded by talks between El-Baradei and the Indian National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan, where chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar was also present.
Earlier, El-Baradei said that there is no deadline for New Delhi to sign the safeguards agreement on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
As a friend of India, he said, he would like to see India make full use of nuclear energy to enable it to sustain 10 percent growth rate. With 70 percent of petroleum used in India being imported and its coal reserves fast depleting, this is all the more necessary, El-Baradei emphasized.
El-Baradei stated that he wanted to see India get out of the restrictions imposed by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group on nuclear commerce and be able to operate as a supplier as well as a recipient.
After meeting External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Wednesday, El-Baradei made a strong pitch for the nuclear deal, saying it would help India in sustaining its 10 percent economic growth and enable the country to become an “equal partner” in the global nuclear order.
Owing to left’s opposition to the deal, Narayanan discussed with El-Baradei the delay that can be exercised by India in approaching the IAEA. El-Baradei made it clear that IAEA would wait till New Delhi is ready to discuss the issue following the completion of “domestic political dialogue” on it.
Meanwhile, the left parties categorically stated yesterday that they are not keen on precipitating the nuclear crisis for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
They are keeping a keen watch on center’s moves to end the logjam over the Indo-US nuclear deal. There are indications, according to sources, that the government is busy finding a way out to avoid midterm polls.
On this, veteran leftist leader M.K. Pandhe (Communist Party of India-Marxist) said: “We are for delaying the deal. So long as the government delays the deal, there is no question of the left withdrawing its support to it.” A.B. Bardhan and Shamim Faizi (Communist Party of India) said that there was an atmosphere on part of both sides to avoid a head-on confrontation on the nuclear deal and prevent midterm polls. The allies in UPA government are against the deal, they said.
Meanwhile, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad yesterday ruled out any possibility of early general elections, saying there was no threat to the Congress-led UPA government despite differences with the Left allies.
“There is no threat to the UPA government. It is running smoothly despite differences on some issues with Left parties. So, there is no chance of a mid-term poll,” Lalu Prasad, who is also chief of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, said here at a function to mark the birth anniversary of socialist Jayaprakash Narayan.
