Seal The Deal

The nuclear pact is about ending India's isolation. Why oppose it? External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement in Parliament on Monday is a match report on the negotiations between the government and the IAEA as well as a clarification of the government's view of the nuclear deal for the benefit of its allies and the Opposition. He stressed three points. One, talks on an India-specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA are about to be concluded and a happy conclusion would enable the Nuclear Suppliers Group to amend its guidelines and facilitate nuclear trade among member countries and New Delhi. Two, Indo-US civil nuclear commerce will be guided by the bilateral agreement, not by the Hyde Act. Three, the government will try to achieve a broad political consensus on the issue. Mukherjee's statement has come in the wake of a lot of chatter that the Indo-US nuclear deal is as good as dead. That is because there is no sign yet of the consensus that the government is seeking on the issue. The BJP sees the nuclear deal as a political issue to confront the UPA government and nothing else. The Left is blinded by a dead ideology and sees a red herring in improved relations with the US out of fear of