Ashwani Kumar hopes Congress will clear India-US nuke deal

New Delhi, Jun 13 (UNI) Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar has epressed confidence that the initial legislation pertaining to the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal will be flagged in the Congress in the near future.

'' The general sense that I had got during this (Washington) visit is that there is wide support in principle for the nuclear deal despite certain issues that need to be addressed'', Dr Kumar said in Washington last evening.

Calling the latest report of the New York based Council on Foreign Relations as a decisive endorsement of the utility of the (nuclear) deal to both sides, Dr Kumar said that India has put all the cards on the table and would want the deal as outlined in the July joint statement.

'' Nothing that is inconsistent with the July statement or going beyond the July statement can be accepted by India. The Indian position has been made clear on more than one occasion and the US is fully conscious of the sensitivities in India. It is clearly understood that the Indian government will stick to the position that has been endorsed by the Indian Parliament'', the Minister said.

UNI PC DKS HT1535