PUNE, 22 October 2007 — The Minister for the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Prithviraj Chavan confirmed that the Indo-US nuclear deal would be signed soon but only after the doubts expressed by the left parties are cleared. He, however, admitted that the party had no plans of setting a deadline for the deal.
Chavan said that it took 13 years for China to strike a deal, but this does not signify that we would wait for 13 years. He added that the current priority is to have a dialogue with the left parties and clarify their doubts.
"A joint meeting of senior Congress and left party leaders was scheduled to be held in Delhi and I am hopeful the differences between the two would be sorted out," Chavan said.
To a question whether the deal would get signed during the tenure of the UPA government and before the next Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) elections, Chavan said "We cannot set such a deadline. If the Monday meeting is inclusive, we will continue with our efforts. However, one thing is for sure, we want to clarify the objections of the left parties and then sign the deal, as it is essential for power generation," he said.
Defending the nuclear deal, Chavan said the deal would mitigate Indian power crisis. "Also our strategic and military programs will not be affected because of the deal."
Asked about the possibility of early mid-term polls due tot the nuclear, Chavan said, "In democracy the possibility of elections is always there and cannot be ruled out. We need to solve genuine differences with the left parties as their thoughts are constructive while the BJP is politicizing the issue."
Chavan, who is overlooking certain areas in Gujarat for the upcoming election, blasted the Narendra Modi government. He blamed the Gujarat chief minister for nonperformance. "The performance of Modi's government will be the one-point agenda for our party during the Gujarat elections," he said, adding that the Congress Party is expecting to benefit from internal rebellion of the BJP in this election.
