M A I N   N E W S

Nuke Deal
Manmohan hopeful

On Board PM’s Special Aircraft, September 23
Ahead of his meeting with President George W Bush, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was today not sure that a Congressional approval for the Indo-US Nuclear deal was coming before Thursday but was still hopeful.

“Let us see. It is not clear yet. We are not certain yet,” he said in his first public comments on the progress in the nuclear deal after the US President George W. Bush transmitted the 123 agreement to the US Congress for its approval to operationalise the landmark accord between them.

The PM made these remarks when asked by journalists accompanying him from Frankfurt to New York whether he expected the US Congress approval before his meeting with Bush on Thursday at the White House in Washington.

The Prime Minister did not have a formal press conference on board but walked down the aisle to spend some time with journalists who shot off questions.

He, however, acknowledged that the US Congress was preoccupied with a crucial financial package in the wake of the meltdown in the US. “Much depends on the US Congress,” he said.

Singh was philosophical when asked whether he will be disappointed if the accord failed to cross the Congressional hurdle when he will be Washington.

He said in politics one has to live with disappointments but “I do not believe we have reached that stage. I am still hopeful.”

At the same time, Singh appeared to keep the window open to on getting the deal approved by the Congress quickly.

On the eve of his meeting Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, Singh said Islamabad must address the rising issue of cross-border terrorism.

Asked about the demand for tough terror laws in the wake of explosions in different cities in India, he said, “It is a complex issue. It is not a question of having a law alone.”

He said he has not reached a conclusion yet on having a new anti-terror law. — PTI