Indo-US nuke pact clears last hurdle

After three years of torturous and controversial journey, the Indo-US civil nuclear co-operation deal is finally expected to see the light of day when President George W. Bush signs on the dotted line or over the weekend. US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on Saturday to sign the inter-governmental instruments that will operationalise the landmark agreement. The final legislation is titled "United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act".

On Wednesday, the US Senate approved the deal with an overwhelmingly majority, while also shooting down two killer amendments. The agreement, entered into between Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and President Bush in 2005, secured 86 votes while 13 Senators voted against it. The US-India Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (123 Agreement) got bi-partisan support after the killer amendments, moved by two Democratic Senators, were turned down.

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain also voted for the bill, as did Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate Joe Biden. The legislation was already cleared by the House of Representatives. The bill still contains provisions that would ensure cessation of US nuclear cooperation in case New Delhi conducts a nuclear test.

Rice wrote to Senate majority leader Harry Reid, that a nuclear test by India would result in the most serious consequences, including automatic cut-off of cooperation as well as a number of other sanctions. She expressed hope that India would continue to abide by its unilateral moratorium on further nuclear tests.

However, India said that the country still retains the right to conduct a nuclear test, while others have a right to react to such an incident. "India has the right to test, others have the right to react," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.