Indo-US nuclear deal not likely to pass Congress soon

Washington, May 11 (UNI) The US Congress may not be able to give the green signal to the US-India civilian nuclear deal anytime soon, since several Congressmen, especially Democrats, have expressed skepticism over the way the deal has been negotiated.

They also seek to question whether India could be trusted to keep up its part of the bargain by adhering to the IAEA guidelines and enacting stricter exports controls.

The opposition came to light when Representative Tom Lantos, (Democratic, California) and Congressman Ed Markey told the House International Relations Committee that US Congress should not proceed with the deal before India puts in place the IAEA safeguards and also concludes the final agreement 123 on the nuclear civilian cooperation with the Bush administration.

Unless these details were made available to the Congress, members should not vote on this agreement, they said.

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