What Obama told Congress party delegation on Monday

The US president acknowledged that it was former prime minister Manmohan Singh who had scripted the nuclear deal, Congress leader Anand Sharma, was part of the delegation that met the former, tells Rashmi Sehgal. 

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama met former prime minister Manmohan Singh, party president Sonia Gandhi and several other Congress leaders at the ITC Maurya, where the visiting president stayed during his India visit, on Monday.

Obama met the Congress delegation after attending the 66th Republic Day parade at Rajpath, where he was the chief guest.

The initiative for this meet came from the White House with the help of US state department intermediaries who facilitated the meeting.

Congress leader Anand Sharma, who was a member of the delegation, said, “Obama acknowledged that it was former prime minister Manmohan Singh (and his team) who had scripted the nuclear deal, opening the door for India to seek nuclear technology from the US and the rest of the world.”

“Obama said Dr Singh had taken a risk against all odds. It was indeed a great risk because it took the UPA government to the very brink with the opposition forcing a vote on this issue in Parliament in a clear bid to topple the UPA government,” Sharma said.

“We survived two such bids in Parliament. The first was the vote on the civil nuclear agreement which took place in July 2008. And the second was on multi-brand retail which took place in December 2013,” Sharma said.

Referring to the civil nuclear agreement, Sharma said, “The UPA government had pursued and protected the supreme national interests of India. We are happy that the Modi government has acknowledged the merits of the UPA regime decision.”

Sharma further pointed out that there was nothing for the Modi regime to complete on the larger Indo-US civil nuclear deal since most of the work had already been done by the Manmohan Singh government.

"But this entire process was delayed due to the unrealistic amendment put up by the floor leaders of the Opposition BJP," Sharma charged. 

“We will wait and see what assurances have been given (by the Modi government). President Obama has assured us that the details will be made available to us,” he said.

In the course of their meeting Obama referred to Dr Singh as being the author of the original economic reforms that helped transform the Indian economy.

“I am not an economist but I have always benefited greatly from your wisdom, Obama told Dr Singh,” Sharma said.

Sharma said Dr Singh emphasised the importance of inclusive and sustainable growth for a society like India where a large number of people live on the ‘margins of subsistence’.

Sharma added that the Congress leaders had a free-flowing conversation on several social and welfare agenda issues and “also on our commitment to the principles of diversity and pluralism.”

“It is interesting that Obama made mention of these very two terms, diversity and pluralism, in his talk he gave at the Siri Fort auditorium on Monday in which he highlighted the first amendment in the US Constitution and Article 25 of the Indian Constitution which allows for the practice, preaching and propagation of all religions,” Sharma said.

President Obama and the Congress leadership discussed a wide range of issues, including the threat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Cooperation in multiple sectors including defence was also discussed, with both Sonia and Rahul taking an active part in the discussion Sharma added.