07-04-2008, 03:03 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Is nuclear deal already a dead duck? </b>
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
With no lame duck session, no time left: Ackerman
For over a fortnight, the country might have witnessed a spectacular political drama over the India-US civil nuclear agreement, but it may all end in a disappointing anti-climax. Â
After reminding New Delhi repeatedly that each passing day was crucial for the passage of the deal, the US has now delivered a shocker to the Indian establishment by saying that there would not be any "lame duck session" of the US Congress at the year-end to pass the nuclear agreement after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the NSG stages are cleared.
What could sound music to the ears of the Left parties, senior US Congressman Gary Ackerman has said there is "virtually no time left" to get the deal through. After meeting Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon in New Delhi on Thursday, Ackerman surprised everyone by saying the US Congress was likely to adjourn in September for the rest of the year and not come back even for a lame duck session.
So far, the discussion on the timeline for the deal's approval by the US Congress was based on the assumption that it would have a lame duck session after September. A lame duck session at the end of the year has normally been a tradition in the US.
"The calendar is running quickly," said Ackerman, head of the House Foreign Relations Sub-Committee on South Asia. "We had been hopeful that the processes will move quickly... (but) the processes have moved slower than we had hoped because of obvious reasons," he added.
<b>A six-member delegation led by Ackerman is also expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday. Ackerman made it clear that India would have to complete all formalities by September if it wanted the nuclear agreement to go through</b>. The 64-year-old Ackerman is the Democratic co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans and a senior member of the House International Relations Committee.
Reacting to the development, a senior Government official told The Pioneer that all was still not lost and the remaining two months could be enough to obtain the IAEA and NSG clearances for the deal.
<b>Sources said the Government was planning to approach the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) soon after the Prime Minister returned home on July 9 after attending the G-8 summit at Tokyo. </b>
The official told The Pioneer that the two-week time which the IAEA board of governors could take to approve the India-specific safeguards text, would be utilised to build consensus in the NSG for the deal. The Government hopes that when it presents the IAEA safeguards text before the board of governors, it could also informally circulate it among the NSG members at the same time. This could save crucial time and help narrow the time required for NSG clearances.
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>However, it was not clear if the safeguards text could be circulated to the NSG members without formal approval by the IAEA board of governors. And if that does not happen, the Government may not have any other option but to forget the deal </span>
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Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
With no lame duck session, no time left: Ackerman
For over a fortnight, the country might have witnessed a spectacular political drama over the India-US civil nuclear agreement, but it may all end in a disappointing anti-climax. Â
After reminding New Delhi repeatedly that each passing day was crucial for the passage of the deal, the US has now delivered a shocker to the Indian establishment by saying that there would not be any "lame duck session" of the US Congress at the year-end to pass the nuclear agreement after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the NSG stages are cleared.
What could sound music to the ears of the Left parties, senior US Congressman Gary Ackerman has said there is "virtually no time left" to get the deal through. After meeting Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon in New Delhi on Thursday, Ackerman surprised everyone by saying the US Congress was likely to adjourn in September for the rest of the year and not come back even for a lame duck session.
So far, the discussion on the timeline for the deal's approval by the US Congress was based on the assumption that it would have a lame duck session after September. A lame duck session at the end of the year has normally been a tradition in the US.
"The calendar is running quickly," said Ackerman, head of the House Foreign Relations Sub-Committee on South Asia. "We had been hopeful that the processes will move quickly... (but) the processes have moved slower than we had hoped because of obvious reasons," he added.
<b>A six-member delegation led by Ackerman is also expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday. Ackerman made it clear that India would have to complete all formalities by September if it wanted the nuclear agreement to go through</b>. The 64-year-old Ackerman is the Democratic co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans and a senior member of the House International Relations Committee.
Reacting to the development, a senior Government official told The Pioneer that all was still not lost and the remaining two months could be enough to obtain the IAEA and NSG clearances for the deal.
<b>Sources said the Government was planning to approach the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) soon after the Prime Minister returned home on July 9 after attending the G-8 summit at Tokyo. </b>
The official told The Pioneer that the two-week time which the IAEA board of governors could take to approve the India-specific safeguards text, would be utilised to build consensus in the NSG for the deal. The Government hopes that when it presents the IAEA safeguards text before the board of governors, it could also informally circulate it among the NSG members at the same time. This could save crucial time and help narrow the time required for NSG clearances.
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>However, it was not clear if the safeguards text could be circulated to the NSG members without formal approval by the IAEA board of governors. And if that does not happen, the Government may not have any other option but to forget the deal </span>
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