Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he'll seek approval from the International Atomic Energy Agency for the U.S. nuclear accord ``as soon as possible,'' after securing the political support needed to remain in power.
Singh, speaking hours after a key regional party backed the agreement, said the withdrawal earlier of his communist allies won't topple the coalition. The prime minister meets U.S. President George W. Bush tomorrow after pledging to move ahead on their 2005 deal that will allow India to import technology and fuel without joining the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
``I just learned it but I don't think it will affect the stability of our government,'' Singh said in Sapporo, Japan.
Singh's Congress Party has spent the past month securing backing from the rival Samajwadi Party so he can win a parliamentary vote on the government's survival. In return, Samajwadi has said it will pressure Singh to remove Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram and Reserve Bank Governor Yaga Venugopal Reddy for their inability to contain inflation.
``Samajwadi will interfere big time in the government's functioning,'' said Chandra Prakash Bhambri, a professor of politics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. ``The Congress-Samajwadi deal is a classic example of political opportunism.''
Pulling Out
The Communist parties earlier said they will submit a letter to President Pratibha Patil tomorrow stating they will end their four-year backing for Singh's government. They had threatened to pull out if Singh pursued the agreement, saying the deal will hinder India's ability to pursue an independent foreign policy.
``That time has come,'' Prakash Karat, leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said at a press conference in New Delhi today.
The ruling United Progressive Alliance has 225 seats and relied on the Communists' 59 lawmakers for a majority in the 545- member lower house of parliament. With Samajwadi's 39 lawmakers, it will still need support from another nine members to reach the majority 273 mark.
The benchmark Sensitive Index recouped most of its losses on expectations Singh's government will remain in power. The Sensex ended 1.3 percent lower after falling as much as 3.5 percent.
The government is stable and will survive any confidence motion in parliament, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said in a televised conference today.
Samajwadi Conditions
The Congress party had snubbed Samajwadi after national elections in May 2004 when it wanted to join the alliance. The Samajwadi Party said it will seek the removal of Singh's two economic policy makers and Oil Minister Murli Deora.
``It's the prerogative of the prime minister to remove them because of their failure to check inflation,'' Samajwadi General Secretary Amar Singh told reporters on July 3.
After securing political support for the agreement in India, Prime Minister Singh needs the nod from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said today that time is running short for the agreement to reach the U.S. Congress for approval before Bush's term ends this year.
It could be that Singh is ``ready to move forward, but it also could just as likely be that they have a little bit more work to do,'' Perona said in Tokayo, Japan, where the leaders are attending the Group of Eight summit. ``We obviously recognize, as well, that we have a limited number of legislative days for our Congress to get a lot of work done.''
India needs the deal to increase nuclear generation almost 10-fold and end blackouts in the world's second-most populous country after China. Orders for reactors worth $14 billion are already in the pipeline from suppliers including General Electric Co. and Westinghouse Electric Co.
Power and other infrastructure shortages shave about 2 percentage points from India's economic growth rate annually, the finance ministry estimates. India's $912 billion economy has grown an average 8.9 percent a year since 2003.
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