Indo-US N-deal clears last hurdle in Congress

Washington, Oct 2 (PTI) After more than three years of tortuous and fractious domestic politics of India, the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal Thursday secured the stamp of approval of the U.S. when the Senate overwhelmingly voted a bill rejecting all the killer amendments, paving the way for its implementation.

The landmark civil nuclear cooperation, entered into
between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George W.
Bush in 2005 on which the United Progressive Alliance (U.P.A.)
risked the coalition government, was approved by the Senate
with 86 voting for and 13 against with bi-partisan support
after throwing out the amendments moved by two Democratic
Senators.

Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden, a
strong supporter of India, also voted for the Bill, which
still contains a provision that would ensure cessation of U.S.
nuclear cooperation with India in case New Delhi conducted an
atomic test.

President George W. Bush, who personally took steps to
push the deal and the legislation, and Biden hailed the
passage of the legislation saying it would strengthen global
nuclear non-proliferation efforts and help India increase its
energy production.

The legislation, which has already been cleared by
the House of Representatives in the midst of pre-occupation
with the financial bailout package, will now head to the White
House for Bush signing it into a law.

With Thursday's Senate vote, the deal is now ready for
being inked by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when
she arrives in New Delhi on her rescheduled trip on Saturday
with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The Senate approval marks the culmination of a rough
journey the deal undertook in the took in the last three
years, especially in India with the Left parties withdrawing
their support because of their strong opposition to
cooperation with the US.

White House hopefuls Democrat Barack Obama and
Republican John McCain also voted in favour of the Bill.

In an apparent attempt to assuage the naysayers, Rice
Wednesday wrote a letter to Senate majority leader Harry
Reid, saying a nuclear test by India would result in "most
serious consequences", including automatic cut-off of U.S.
cooperation as well as a number of other sanctions.

However, she said the U.S. believed that the Indian
Government intends to uphold the continuation of the nuclear
testing moratorium it affirmed to the United States in 2005
and reiterated to the broader international community as
recently as September 5, 2008.

The nuclear deal ended 34 years of nuclear apartheid
against India when the Nuclear Suppliers Group granted a
historic waiver on September six after which France also
signed an agreement with India for civil nuclear cooperation.

The Prime Minister himself was to sign the deal last
week during his meeting with Bush, but could not do so because
of the U.S. Congress' pre-occupation with the financial
bailout package and its inability to clear the deal bill.

The Bush administration had said that the pact will
secure a strategic partnership with India to meet its rising
energy demand and open up a market worth billions.

At the start of the debate prior to voting, the Ranking
Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Richard
Lugar asked his colleagues to participate in a "historic"
moment.

Lugar said "this is an opportunity for the United
States and India to come together in a way that historically
is important for the world. India is a very important country
for us and this relationship is sealed in a very significant
way by this agreement.

"...We ask senators to vote on this... moment for a
partnership that will be enduring, in my judgement, and will
make a big difference in the history of the world," he said.

A spirited bi-partisan defence of the deal was
witnessed in the Senate when lawmakers cited "compelling
geopolitical" reasons for its passage.

But Byron Dorgan of North Dakota persisted with the
amendment that he and his colleague from New Mexico introduced
stressing that the U.S.-India agreement is a "flawed" one that
would result in the addition of more nuclear weapons in the
planet.

"Our amendment is relatively simple. It says, if India
tests nuclear weapons, this agreement is nullified and we work
to try to shut off supplies from the other supplier groups.
The last thing we ought to allow is to have India begin
testing nuclear weapons without consequence to the agreement
that has been negotiated with India.

Senator Christopher Dodd, Acting Chair of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Floor Manager on
Wednesday for the legislation, however, came back with a
spirited response to the call of his colleague on the
amendment.
"...I would merely point out to my colleagues on this
particular amendment they offer, the Atomic Energy Act, the
Arms Export Control Act, the Hyde Amendment and this bill all
have provisions in it that would allow us to respond, should
India decide to detonate a nuclear weapon," Senator Dodd said.

"No one anywhere wants to see a further proliferation
of nuclear weapons. But India and the United States are the
two largest democracies in the world. India is in a very tough
and fragile neighbourhood. It's important that we develop and
improve that relationship that has been a tense one since
1974. This agreement began with the work of President Clinton,
was concluded by President Bush," he added.

"We think it is an agreement worth supporting and we
urge our colleagues to do sends respectfully reject this
amendment," Dodd said. PTI SK