US Congressman says still chance of N-deal succeeding

US OPTIMISTIC: Congressman McDermott says that there is still a three week-windown in which the N-deal can be pulled off.

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New Delhi: CNN-IBN spoke to US Democrat Congressman, Jim McDermott - who is also the Head of the India caucus at the US House - and asked him whether there was still a chance of the Indo-US Nuclear Deal being concluded within the remaining term of the current US admistration.

This is what McDermott had to say: "We will leave on Friday for the US for a week for July 4th celebrations. Then we will come back for a three week session and then go out for August for our national convention. So there is this three-week-window in July when the deal can be done. The new president, if Democrat, will have a new view of the foreign policy. However, I think there is a possiblity to negotiate some thing with India, but not on the back of a galloping horse which is what most people are trying to do."

The Indo-US Nuclear Deal has rapidly turned into the biggest political crisis ever to be faced by the UPA Government since it came to power four years ago.

In fact, the issue has blown up to become such a flashpoint that the Left - one of the key allies of the Congress-led Government at the Centre - is threatening to withdraw support if the Government approaches the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with the India specific safeguards.

The Left says that once the safeguards are in place, operationalising the deal will then be a mere formailty and operationalising is something that Left parties are dead against.