Mohammad El Baradei, director general of the IAEA, is retiring in July. The government has conveyed to the Left that it wants to conclude the deal during his tenure as otherwise it fears fresh trouble from the atomic watchdog.
Though there is an objective system of consultation on nuclear issues, individuals can influence outcomes. This point has been made by several Indian diplomats who have interacted with the IAEA, including TP Sreenivasan, who believes that El Baradei, an Egyptian, never allowed his nationality to come in the way of viewing India's nuclear ambitions.
A third term for El Baradei, when it came up for renewal in 2005, was endorsed by the United States with reluctance. "It was an open secret that the US tried to put up a credible candidate against him, failing which it held back its support even after the rest of the board indicated support for him. The US had no veto, but no one could think of an IAEA director general without US support", said Sreenivasan.
Leveraging this point, Mukherjee has told the Left that El Baradei is likely to be succeeded by a diplomat from Japan, leading to a change in the mood in Vienna.
While Mukherjee told the Left he did not know what the personal or political view of the next secretary general would be, he made it clear that the political stand of Japan might affect the prospects of India getting the IAEA clearance.
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The Left, however, is yet to show any sympathy on this ground. "Without knowing what there is in the agreement, how can we allow the government to go ahead?" a top Left leader told Business Standard.
Although Mukherjee has ruled out showing the draft of the agreement to the Left, the government will reply on the different points its allies have raised over the draft.