New Delhi, February 20
July 2008 is the very last deadline for the Indo-US nuclear deal to reach the US Congress, according to three US Senators, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today.

This means that India will have to sew up the India-specific safeguards agreement with the 35-nation IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and obtain the approval of the 45-nation NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group) before presenting the nuclear deal to the US Congress - and all this will have to be done before July. Or else, the Bush administration will not be able to consider the deal, arguably the centerpiece in Indo-US strategic partnership.

The Senators who met Manmohan Singh and national security adviser M.K. Narayanan were John Kerry, Joseph Biden (both Democrats) and Chuck Hagel (Republican). The Senators discussed the entire gamut of Indo-US relations with the Prime Minister, later addressed the media here. The senators were in New Delhi en route from Pakistan where they observed the recent national elections.

Biden, who heads the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, quoted the Prime Minister as saying that the deal was ‘not over’.

“The Prime Minister appeared to be optimistic. He told us, no, it is not over,” he said when asked what Manmohan Singh told him about the chances of the deal going through this year… He explained his difficulties and said he would pursue it.

Biden made it clear that time was running out for India to wrap up the deal so that it can be ratified by the US Congress before July-end. If this were not to happen, the 123 agreement would be renegotiated if a Democrat becomes the next US President.

In response to a question if July was the de facto deadline for the deal, Biden replied: “Practically, it is…July is the end... If it is not done by the end of July, the deal does not go through. It has to reach the US Congress before June.”

Biden’s take was that it was highly unlikely that the next President will be able to present the deal in its present form as the Democrats have strong views relating to nuclear proliferation and arms control.

Senator Hagel said the common interests of the Indians and Americans went beyond the nuclear agreement.

“We need to be partners and stay engaged. A number of senators will be very sad if the deal does not go through. A number of Democratic senators are ready to vote for the deal,” he said.

Hagel stressed that the Democrats, who are seen to be hawkish on nuclear non-proliferation issues, were ready to vote for the deal.

Kerry, the Democratic candidate for the 2004 presidential polls, said it was important for India to move the agreement as rapidly as possible, preferably within weeks.

“Time is of essence,” he said and reminded that the deal would make India sit at the high table.

“This is an important moment for India. If we don’t get the IAEA pact within weeks, it’s going to be physically difficult due to the Congressional calendar to get the deal through,” Kerry said without mincing words. “It is in India’s interest. It is India’s decision,” he added in a bid to stress that what he was saying was not a pressure tactic but a statement of facts.

He cautioned that the failure to push the deal through this year will nonetheless “indirectly impact” on the Indo-US relations. He said if the deal were to come to the US Congress at the last minute, it would not go through.

“Our worry is that our failure to ratify the deal will then be seen in India as a rejection,” he said.