Cabinet clears Indo-US nuke deal

OUR BUREAU

New Delhi, July 25, 2007 : Jubilant over its success in driving a hard nuclear bargain with the US, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh briefed the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs as well as the Cabinet Committee on Security this afternoon, which went on to clear the deal.

The prime minister’s office, betraying its lack of political instinct, had not even contacted political leaders in the Opposition since the Indian team returned from Washington over the weekend, opening itself to the charge of being ``exclusive, not inclusive.’’

The Congress party had made the exact charge against the BJP in 1998 when the nuclear tests took place, when Vajpayee had not deigned to brief former prime ministers in what was described as a ``nationalist step.’’

Today, however, foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee declared the PM would soon brief former prime minister and BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee, as well as L K Advani and Jaswant Singh. A meeting with the Left leaders is scheduled tonight.

``All concerns of India have been reflected and adequately addressed,’’ Mukherjee told reporters after the hour-long CCPA-CCS meeting.

He said Delhi’s bottomline on reprocessing spent fuel, lifetime guarantees of fuel supply as well as the implicit acknowledgement of India’s right to test would be incorporated in the agreement.

He said the text of the 123 agreement, as the nuclear deal is known commonly, was shown to all Cabinet ministers this morning, and that it would be table in Parliament on the first day on August 10.

The government’s attempts at being transparent also means that it is trying to manage the publicity fallout. That is why selective briefings on the nuclear deal have already begun, including in the media.

The enormous media interest in the matter, which virtually gives India nuclear power recognition, means that National Security Adviser MK Narayanan, Foreign secretary Shivshanker Menon and atomic energy chief Anil Kakodkar will be briefing the national press on Friday.

Kakodkar’s presence on the high table alongside Narayanan indicates what a long distance the atomic energy chief has travelled. In fact, until Narayanan virtually took over the deal, and Narayanan with it, the deal looked terribly orphaned.

ENDS