US House clears N-deal

Dealing a stunning blow to critics of the Indo-US nuclear accord, the House of Representatives today overwhelmingly voted for a legislation providing greater access of sensitive nuclear technology to India after defeating potential deal-breaker amendments.

The legislation, cleared by the 435-member House by a 359-68 vote, nearly four hours after taking it up for debate, must now be approved by the Senate before being signed into law by President George W Bush.

The approval of the US and India Nuclear Cooperation Promotion Act of 2006 by the House handed a major victory to Bush's foreign policy initiative and was described by many lawmakers as a cornerstone of the new strategic partnership between the two countries.

In New Delhi, although a spokesman of the US embassy clarified that there would be no change between the understanding reached between India and the US following the joint statement by President George Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 18 July, 2005, India kept its powder dry.

A government spokesman clarified that the passage of the Bill by a large margin of bipartisan votes in the US House of Representatives, demonstrated the broad political consensus in the US on the issue.

However, he added, "We must, nevertheless, await the finalized text of the legislation which will emerge after a Senate vote and the reconciliation of the two Bills, before we are able to comment on its contents."