Saturday, May 6 2006 13:45 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: Indian-American community leaders from across the United States came down here to launch a 'coordinated grass root campaign' for the approval of the landmark Indo-US civilian nuclear deal which is pending before Congress.

"Beyond its symbolic significance, this gathering (of over 150 community leaders) served to launch a coordinated grassroot campaign" for the deal, Swadesh Chatterjee, a community leader and political activist from North Carolina, said in a statement.

"We all must be proud of what we accomplished. However, let's be clear this is just the first step," Chatterjee, one of the founders of the US-India Friendship Council, said.

Indian-American leaders had a briefing at the White House by the top Presidential aide Karl Rove, a key political advisor to President George W Bush, and other senior administration officials.

The briefing was followed by a substantive policy discussion, jointly hosted by the US-India Friendship Council and US-India Business Council at the US Chamber of Commerce.

According to a statement, the information session featured Republican Senator John Cornyn, one of the founders of the Senate India Caucus, former US Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Tom Pickering and former US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Rick Inderfurth.