123 is the India-US nuclear deal: Boucher

WASHINGTON: The 123 agreement for civil nuclear cooperation "is the deal" between India and the United States, a senior US official has clarified, suggesting it overtakes the Hyde Act whose legal implications have led to a political crisis in India.

"The deal between India and the United States is the 123 agreement. All the operative paras are in 123. So that's the operative part," Assistant Secretary of State Richard A. Boucher said Tuesday when asked to comment on New Delhi's assertion that the implementing accord supersedes the enabling US law.

"We have met all requirements of the Hyde Act. The 123 agreement is in conformity with the Hyde Act" and the Bush Administration does not see anything in the law that would change Washington's relationship with India, he said at a briefing organised by the US India Business Alliance (USIBA) on Capitol Hill.

But in response to a direct question if 123 superseded the Hyde Act, Boucher parried, "I don't think that's a meaningful statement".

Washington also stood by its assurances to India regarding fuel supply given in March 2006 when India agreed on a separation plan for its civilian and military nuclear reactors, Boucher said.

"That hasn't changed. We agreed to it then. We agree to it now," he said. It only needed final clearance from the US Congress.

Describing 123 agreement as "a carefully negotiated" accord, Boucher said it not only met all the requirements of the Hyde Act but was also consistent with the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

It also met the requirements of what President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had agreed to in their joint statements of July 18, 2005 and March 2, 2006 regarding full civil nuclear cooperation.

While the deal has to undergo the test of the democratic process in both the countries, it was important that this was done as soon as possible, Boucher said terming it as a seminal agreement that opens the door to economic, technological and other types of cooperation.

Regarding the next steps, the official said both the US and India have a role in putting forward India's case for an exemption from the current guidelines of the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government's Left allies have called for a pause in the implementation of the deal for "at least six months" as they feel that if India accepts the deal in its present form it would end up compromising on its strategic sovereignty.

"The government's basic argument on the Hyde Act is flawed. They say that once the 123 Agreement is adopted as law, the Hyde Act will not have relevance. But what we have been saying is that the Hyde Act is in-built in the 123 Agreement," Left leaders have said.

Asked about New Delhi's relationship with Iran, Boucher said the Indian government was well aware of Congressional concerns over a military relationship with Tehran. While it was for the Indian side to explain its relationship with Iran, some reports about its ties were exaggerated.