US House clears N-deal, French accord imminent
By Sanjay Basak
New York, Sept. 28: India stands on the verge of creating history. The Indo-US civil nuclear agreement moved into its final lap by clearing its most crucial hurdle when the House of Representatives approved legislation on Saturday to give effect to the deal by well over the required two-thirds majority. The bill will now go to the Senate for approval next week, and it is hoped that the vote might take place as early as Monday.
The House passed the bill with 298 voting in favour and 117 against. With the Senate foreign relations committee already having given its green signal, the Indian side hopes clearance by the full Senate will now be a "mere formality".
The architect of the historic accord, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, would, however, only allow himself cautious optimism. "I am happy that one hurdle has been crossed, but it is not the end of the congressional process and we need to wait for the final outcome," Dr Singh said. External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who arrives in New York on Sunday to attend the UN General Assembly session, is expected to sign the agreement later in New Delhi along with US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who is scheduled to be in India during the first week of October.
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