India is unlikely to be distracted by the some of the “intrusive” language in the nuclear legislation approved by the House International Relations Committee last night and focus on an early implementation of the nuclear deal with the Bush Administration.Responding to the concerns expressed by the Left and the BJP on the House committee formulations on Iran, senior officials here said say the nuclear deal with the US will not undermine India’s independent foreign policy.“India’s foreign policy will be determined by its national interests”, the officials said. There is “no other basis” for sustaining domestic political support to foreign policy, they added.The officials welcomed the first step taken by the US Administration in implementing its side of the nuclear bargain—to get the enabling legislation approved by the Congress.Officials here appreciate the Bush Administration’s effort in mobilising such broad-based support for nuclear cooperation, which resulted in more than two-thirds of the House Committee voting for nuclear cooperation with India.Besides US President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, all the top officials of the Administration, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser Steven Hadley, and Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns have been talking up support for the bill in the US Congress.The government hopes the Senate Foreign Relations Committee would also come through strongly in support of nuclear cooperation with India when it meets tomorrow.As the Congressional process on approving the legislation gathers momentum, the government is moving simultaneously towards the negotiation of an “India-specific” safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. A delegation from the IAEA will arrive here next week to initiate formal talks on a safeguards agreement. Next month will also see the second round of the talks between India and the US on a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement.
