N-deal back on table, sparking new Cong-Left spat
The nuclear deal has crawled back into the agenda, triggering fresh confrontation between Congress and the Left and strengthening speculation about early polls. Buoyed by the estimate that it can ride on the goodwill generated by the populist Budget to prolong its tenure at the Centre, Congress on Monday appeared to be getting ready to push the deal again. On a day when officials negotiating with IAEA returned with a draft of the safeguards agreement India needs to sign with the international nuclear watchdog to take the deal forward, the government suddenly upped the ante on the nuclear cooperation agreement with the US. The first sign of new assertiveness came from foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee. Making a statement in the Lok Sabha on foreign policy, he contested the Left's argument that the 123 agreement with the US would render India susceptible to America's domestic laws, like the Hyde Act. Even as this attracted a strong warning from CPM that going ahead with the deal would have "serious consequences' for the government, Congress dropped an even clearer and direct indication of its renewed keenness to push through the deal. Party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi indicated that in the government's assessment, IAEA had come around to address India's concerns on the draft. "A vast area of divergence has been covered, ironed out in the fifth round of talks,' he said. Though Singhvi