US asks India to move ahead on nuclear deal

DERAILED? Indo-US nuclear deal has become a bone of contention between the UPA and the Left.

    

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New Delhi: The United States of America has warned that any more delay in moving ahead on the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement will make the deal with India difficult.

US State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack reminded India that time is running out for deal.

"We are talking to them (India) about it (deal), in as much as they are briefing us on their efforts. I think it's more they're coming to us to say," McCormack was quoted as saying by PTI.

"This is what we're trying to do to resolve internal political differences that are holding up the deal moving forward. "...And every single day that the Indian government delays and has delayed is a day that makes it much more difficult to get this done," he said.

"All of that said, you know, we'll, of course, continue to work very closely with Senator Biden, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as others on that committee, should the Indian government get to a different place," the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is on a mission to convince the Left on the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement and has postponed his trip to Australia to later in Saturday evening.

Mukherjee will try again on Saturday to get Left's nod of the N-deal but the role of the United Progressive Alliance partners is also crucial.

On Friday night the External Affairs Minister had also met Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Just before meeting Sonia, he tried once again to persuade Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary Prakash Karat and other Left parties to give up their reservations on the N-deal. So far none of those are working.

"I have explained to him Left parties stand when we met on June 18. We have asked the government not to proceed further with the IAEA safeguards agreement," Karat said about his meeting with Mukherjee on Wednesday.

"There has been neither any breakthrough nor any forward movement. Things are at a standstill," Mukherjee said about the outcome of the meeting.

But it's the role of the allies that is crucial. From the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK), all have come out in support of the deal as well taking the Left along.

And it is a scenario that's still a long way off but the government seems to be working on a formula.

CNN-IBN has learnt that it largely revolves around buying time and keeping the negotiations with the Left going.

So as a first step, the meeting scheduled between the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the Left has been postponed from June 25 to June 28.

Mukherjee has already delayed his departure to Australia to Saturday late evening.

With the threat of an early General Election looming large, NCP Spokesperson DP Tripathi said, "Even after the elections, in the context of Indian polity today, we must understand that there would a coalition government at the centre."

That means that the government is also reluctant to face a scenario of moving away from the Left and finding itself at the mercy of parties like the Samajwadi Party or the Janata Dal (Secular) to keep its coalition going.

But it's a scenario that may only worsen things for the Congress and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's fate clearly still hangs in balance. And the biggest question is 'Will he blink again?'

(With inputs from Bhupendra Chaubey)