ore than a year after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George W Bush agreed to a civilian nuclear deal, US Congress passed a landmark legislation on December 8, allowing civilian nuclear trade with India.
President Bush is soon expected to sign the legislation on the implementation of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.
Key US Congressmen have lauded the passage of the legislation, terming it a 'tremendous victory for Indo-US ties' .
While the Indian government has stood firm, saying it will not back down from the deal, the Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded rejection of the deal and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has said that it was not acceptable in the current form. The matter will be discussed in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha in the coming week.
International reactions have been guarded. The Pakistani media highlighted the negatives and the Chinese media was cautious. Japan, where Dr Singh is on a visit, has refrained from being too enthusiastic in backing the deal.
Meanwhile, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns has said he was privately informed by the Indian government leadership that New Delhi is pleased with the enabling legislation approved by the Conference Committee of the US Congress. He also said that the US is confident of support from the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Image: US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns (R) and US Ambassador to India, David C Mulford in New Delhi on December 8.
Photograph: Raveendran/AFP/Getty Images
Also See:
Key provisions of Indo-US nuclear deal
All about the nuclear deal
Complete Coverage
Advertisement
