And The Pitfalls in Getting The Deal

Even as Manmohan Singh bought Amar Singh's and Samajwadi Party's support using CBI's help, sidelining the communists after four long years of being under their thumb on every issue, the task to getting 123 Nuclear Agreement with US ratified by IAEA and NSG is not going to be easy. C. Rajamohan outlines the hurdles especially from the so called liberals.

As a New York Times editorial revealed over the weekend, those who oppose India’s membership of the nuclear club have not raised the white flag. The caution from the Times against an international rush to implement the nuclear deal is likely to be repeated by some other leading publications. So long as the CPM and the BJP were blocking the deal, India’s international adversaries had no reason to step into the debate. The very moment that India signalled its readiness to make the final push, the opponents have come out of the woodwork.

The potential new president of US, presumably Obama, already conveyed that he would not proceed with the deal and that the relationship with India would be on a lower footing. (Knowing this why American Indians and Indians in India support Obama is a mystery!) McCain already endorsed the deal. All that the opposing groups, this could include China, have to do is to delay the ratification of the agreement until January when the newly elected president Obama can take over to make the agreement unworkable for India. After all, the agreement - C. Rajamohan calls it the "most consequential diplomatic campaigns" - may still not be Manmohan's legacy. But I do wish him well.