Sen takes up letters with US panel head

Upset over letters written by American lawmakers to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh linking the nuclear deal with Indo-Iranian ties

Upset over letters written by American lawmakers to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh linking the nuclear deal with Indo-Iranian ties, India8217;s Ambassador to USA Ronen Sen has taken up the issue with Gary Ackerman, a prominent India supporter and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on the Middle East and South Asia. It is learnt that Sen met Ackerman on Sunday, conveying to him that India cannot take lightly to such actions.

Sources said the immediate provocation for the letter was the inability of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to meet a Congressional delegation headed by senators Mike Enzi and Johnney Isakson that came to India on April 13. While Mukherjee was indisposed due to an accident that took place on April 8, the Prime Minister also could not meet time.

Sen has also met some other lawmakers who signed in the letters and said that all foreign policy decisions will be taken in New Delhi and they could not be dictated by Washington.

Sources said the letter could also be seen as a pressure tactics of the Jewish lobby. Mukherjee was to attend the American Jewish Committee meeting in Washington, but ultimately it was Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma who attended it.

Unlike the April 19 letter from the eight senators, the May 2 letter had urged the PM to 8220;sever8221; military ties with Iran and 8220;terminate8221; all cooperation in the energy sector. The letter signed by Chairman of the committee on Foreign Affairs Tom Lantos and six other representatives of the House Foreign Committee said India8217;s continuing exchange and cooperation with Iran and the case of 8220;illegal procurement of sensitive technology8221; from US company Cirrus has a 8220;significant potential to negatively affect relations between the US and India in general and consideration by Congress of the 123 agreement in particular8221;.

The letter has created a ruckus, with the Left parties asking the Government to make a statement in Parliament about negotiations on the 123 agreement and the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline.