We Can Sign Nuclear Deal with Minority Government: US

The Economic Times
Mar 14, 2008

NEW DELHI: The US has said that it will not be averse to inking the nuclear deal with a minority government in India. This assertion must be comforting for the pro-nuclear deal sections in the government and the Congress. Our basic government position is that we can sign an agreement with a duly-constituted government, whatever its political status, US assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher said in an interview to a weekly. Mr Boucher was responding to external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee’s comment that a minority government cannot, need not and should not sign a major agreement like the nuclear deal. As long as it is duly-constituted government of the country, we can sign a deal with it, Mr Boucher said. The US official refused to divulge details of his discussion with the Indian leadership on the matter. Asked whether Indian officials discussed the possibility of signing a deal with a minority or a caretaker government, Mr Boucher said: I don’t remember it actually coming up at all during my meetings with Indian officials.