US India Nuclear Deal: Dead or not? Here are two conflicting news accounts.
The International Herald Tribune has this post-script on the US India nuclear deal:
His coalition partners don’t want him to force an early election. Polls are due in 2009, and which politician wants to give up political power for the sake of nuclear power?
One important ally, Muthuvel Karunanidhi of Tamil Nadu State, went ahead and congratulated the prime minister for “gladdening the hearts of people” by patching up with the leftist parties.
“Frankly, the deal is not important,” he told the NDTV news channel. “The government is important.”
Unless Singh has staged a tactical retreat to take the Marxists by surprise in a later offensive, the so-called 123 agreement with the United States is now dead.
But wait, The Business Standards has this:
Congress spokesperson Shakil Ahmed today denied that the Indo-US nuclear deal was on hold, but stopped short of saying that the deal was on track and gave no time frame for its operationalisation.
When asked repeatedly asked about the deal’s future, Ahmed said: “The deal is not on hold. It has not been put in cold storage. Your (media’s) assessment is wrong.”
He also pointed out that the Prime Minister had never said that the deal was dead or on hold.
Perhaps Singh is waiting to bring the deal back during a less heated time. But exactly when that time will be (after 2009 elections?), seems unclear.
And will India find support for the deal with the new American president?
