After seven months, when India and the US had sealed the text of 123 Agreement on July 21, 2007, the issue of nuclear deal is still under threat to be scrapped completely. Both the countries had succeeded to achieve a breakthrough in talks when they reached on a common agreement to make the deal operational.

The joint statement, signed by the officials from both the countries, stated ‘both the United States and India look forward to the completion of these remaining steps and to the conclusion of this historic Initiative.

The discussions are constructive and positive, and both Under Secretary Burns and Foreign Secretary Menon were pleased with the substantial progress made on the outstanding issues in the 123 agreement. We will now refer the issue to our governments for final review.’

India’s Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and US Undersecretary of State Nicolas Burns had held intense talks for four days to resolve differences on issues such as reprocessing right to India and the fate of the deal if India would conduct a nuclear test in future.

On July 25, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chaired the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) and Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to explain details of the 123 agreement signed in Washington DC on July 21. Then, the CCPA finally approved the draft of Indo-US nuclear cooperation agreement. The government said after approving the 123 agreement that all concerns from India have been adequately addressed by the US administration.

Then Left started its famous role of agitation and opposed the signing of the deal. They even threatened to pull the crucial support to the UPA government without which, Manmohan Singh won’t be able to continue as PM of the country.

Our PM Manmohan Singh is not a political leader, however he is learning it fast, but he is heading a political government and he did bear the pressure from UPA constituent parties to leave the deal aside to survive one more year in power. The UPA decided to put the nuclear deal on hold for the sake of one year of power in office. It was clear victory of left parties because they held nuclear deal for uncertain period of time.

Now, after seven months of the political drama and tabling the Union Budget 2008-08, the government is coming out in open to push the nuclear deal once again. The US government has already extended its positive support to the government of India to come stronger on the question of deal. For, UPA the left-covered dark days have gone and they want to live in shiny days to show the voters of India that a popular government does exist in centre that can take important decisions by own without taking any pressure from any side.

Assembly elections in states have been conducted, Budget has been tabled, and now you can hear central ministers including the Prime Minister have started talking about the need of nuclear deal for the national interest. It was not less than surprise when Manmohan Singh described former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee as as ‘Bhishma Pitamah of Indian politics’, and appealed to the ‘Bhisma Pitamah’ to rise above ‘narrow’ party politics to back the Indo-US nuclear deal.

PM said in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday:

Bhishma Pitamah of Indian politics Atal Bihari Vajpayee should listen to his conscience and let national interest prevail upon narrow politics.

It is crystal clear now that the UPA government is ready to push nuclear deal now to give Left parties terrifying time. After wooing middle class income group and farmers, the government is ready to convince intellectual class with the move to push the deal once again. The PM may send a message to the people of India that the delay was caused by left parties’ threat to the stability of the central government.

Now, it will be interesting to see further moves of UPA and strategy of left parties on this matter because Manmohan Singh is looking determined to make the nuclear deal operational and to use it as ‘last arrow’ to beat left as well as opposition parties both.

Have a complete look here to know the history of Indo-US nuclear deal covered by me on Instablogs.