Mulford meets Advani over nuclear deal

US Ambassador to India David C Mulford today met the Leader of the Opposition, L K Advani, here and discussed with him the civilian nuclear deal, which has been put on the backburner following the reservations expressed by the Opposition and the Left parties.

New Delhi, Oct 25 : US Ambassador to India David C Mulford today met the Leader of the Opposition, L K Advani, here and discussed with him the civilian nuclear deal, which has been put on the backburner following the reservations expressed by the Opposition and the Left parties.

Although no official words were available on the meeting, Mulford reportedly sought BJP's support for an early operationalisation of the deal.

The BJP, along with the government's Left allies, has opposed the deal, saying that it would affect India's indigenous military nuclear programme and independent foreign policy.

There has been a general opinion that the bilateral agreement could be difficult to operationalise since Left parties are trying to woo the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) to launch a joint opposition to the deal.

Three more steps are required to operationalise the deal that include, safeguard agreement with the IAEA, amendment in the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group's charter and the passing of the 123-agreement by the US Congress.

The civilian nuclear cooperation deal aims to lift a three-decade ban on sales of US nuclear fuel and reactors to India, which was imposed after it conducted a nuclear test in 1974 while staying out of non-proliferation agreements.

The Left Front, which provides crucial support to the government from outside, has been opposing the deal and the situation between UPA and Left reached a nadir, sparking the prospect of snap elections.

ANI