US Congress may clear India-US nuke deal in 45-60 days

New Delhi, June 23 (UNI) The US Congress is likely to clear the India-US nuclear deal in the next 45 to 60 days, Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar said here today after returning from his US tour.

''Based on my wide-ranging interactions in the US with eminent representatives of the American political intellectual and corporate establishment, my personal belief is that the India-US nuclear will get through in the Congress in the next 45 to 60 days,'' Mr Kumar said.

The initial motion has been flagged in the Congress which is due for a recess in the near future. After it resumes its session, the deal is set to get through, the minister said.

Mr Kumar had exchanged views with former National Security Adviser in the Clinton Administration Sandy Burger and had interactions at the CSIS, a Washington-based think tank with its President John Hamre and Ambassador Teresita Schaffer. ''The CSIS establishment was generally supportive of the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Deal,'' Mr Kumar said.

In his different meetings, including the one with the CEOs of the petrochemical companies, Mr Kumar emphasised the importance of Indo-US nuclear agreement and described it as a ''critical factor in cementing the new paradigm in the relationship between the two countries''. He spoke with Congressmen Joseph Crowley and Jess Jackson.

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