Nuclear deal done, PM to reach out to Muslims, comrades

Discussing the widespread anti-American demonstrations during the just concluded visit by US President George Bush, the sources said the Prime Minister will try and convince the Muslim leadership as well as the Left parties that the nuclear pact signed with the United States is to the benefit of all people in the country.

The sources asserted that no one should “question the patriotism of the Muslims”. The sources insisted that “all Indians should take pride” in the nuclear pact that promises to end the nation’s long standing nuclear isolation.

“There is no relationship between the Indo-US nuclear pact and the actions of the Bush administration elsewhere in the Islamic world,” the sources added.

It was well-known in the capital’s power corridors for weeks before the Bush visit that the Congress Party’s political managers were nervous about the domestic political impact of the expanding Indo-US partnership.

In its planning for the Bush visit, the UPA government and the Congress leadership sought to balance two contending perspectives. The government could not afford to be seen as letting foreign policy become a hostage to the sectional and sectarian interests in the country.

At the same time, the government and the Congress leadership had to confront the reality that there was a deep anger among Indian Muslims against the policies of the Bush administration in Iraq and Iran.

Having successfully gained the keys from Bush to the nuclear club house, the government hopes that once the benefits of the deal, especially “the enlargement of India’s development options,” are widely understood, all communities would support the nuclear pact.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meetings with the Muslim leaders are expected to take place after the Parliament takes a break in the Budget session.

The PM is also keen to engage the Left on the nuclear pact. The Left parties protested despite the fact that Manmohan Singh had explained the nuclear deal to them “at every step”. “More needs to be done to convince them,” the sources conceded.

On India’s potential vote next week at the International Atomic Energy Agency whose Board of Governors meets in Vienna to discuss Iran’s nuclear programme, sources said there is no resolution under consideration.