Thursday, July 27 2006 12:10 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The India-US nuclear deal took a big step closer to Congressional approval as the House of Representatives passed landmark legislation that would allow peaceful nuclear commerce between the two countries after 30 years.

The house adopted the United States and India Nuclear Cooperation Promotion Act of 2006 by an overwhelming 359-68 votes Wednesday after a five and a half hour debate, despite last ditch efforts by critics to attach 'deal breaker' conditions to the accord.

The massive positive vote was considered a major victory for President George Bush's foreign policy initiative as those voting for the bill included 219 Republicans and 140 Democrats reflecting the degree of his administration's success in building a bipartisan consensus around the India deal. The nay-sayers too had 58 Democrats, nine Republicans and one independent among their ranks.

Member after member from both sides of the aisle rose in support of the bill, authored by Republican chairman of the House Committee on International Relations, Henry Hyde, and ranking Democrat Tom Lantos, to replace the one originally proposed by the Bush administration.

Hyde hailed the bill as a historic and far-reaching step that would bring an acknowledged nuclear weapon state to the table of nuclear stakeholders, while Lantos called it a tidal shift in US policy marking the end of a cold war paradigm.

The limited opposition attack was led by Democrat Edward Markey, who came armed with charts, a picture of A Q Khan considered father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb and a clipping of a recent Washington Post report on expansion of Islamabad's nuclear arsenal, to suggest that the deal would spur a new arms race in South Asia.

In the end, he too only wanted the deal to be made contingent on India aligning itself with the US policy on Iran - a move on which many a Democrat including Tom Lantos was surprisingly found on his side.

But his motion to recommit the bill to the House committee on International Relations was defeated by 192-235 votes with over 170 Democrats on his side after Republican Ed Royce said India was cooperating with US behind the scenes on Iran. And any move to compel a partner was not only unworkable, but also contrary to the new strategic relationship US was trying to work with India.

The House also rejected a couple of what both Hyde and Lantos described as deal killer amendments.

One by Democrat Brad Sherman requiring the president to certify that India was not increasing the amount of domestic uranium used in its military programme was defeated by 151-268 votes. Another by co-Democrats Howard Berman and Ellen Tauscher restricting export of nuclear fuel to India until it halts production of fissile material was lost 184-241.

However, the house did accept three other amendments. One reinforces the intent of Congress that US-India nuclear cooperation is for peaceful and not military purposes (414-0). The second asks the United States to continue its policy of engagement, collaboration, and exchanges with and between India and Pakistan, while the third seeks an annual assessment of India's nuclear fissile material levels. Both were accepted by voice vote.

The full house debate on the bill commended for approval by the House Committee on International Relations in another bipartisan 37-5 vote last month, came after the measure was taken up ahead of other pending legislation under a special rule adopted by 311-112 votes.

The in principle approval of the deal will allow the Bush administration to negotiate a formal agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation with India waiving certain conditions outlined in Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

The pre-conditions include India giving the US and International Atomic Energy Agency a credible plan to separate civilian and military nuclear programmes and materials, and reaching agreement with the IAEA to permanently abide by IAEA standards.

It also requires the president to certify to Congress that India is working for the early conclusion of a multilateral Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty, tightening laws regarding security of nuclear materials and technology, and adhering to requirements of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which must agree by consensus to an exception for India to its guidelines.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Republican Chairman, Richard Lugar, has introduced a somewhat different version of the legislation as approved by his panel by an equally wide 16-2 vote.

But no date has been set as yet for debate in the upper house though Senator Lugar has indicated that it may be taken up only after the month long Senate recess from August 4.

Since the two bills take different approaches to the deal, the legislation will have to go after passage to a Conference Committee to reconcile their differences over a deal that both agree would become a cornerstone for US-India relations.

The Congress would have to take a second vote later to approve the so-called 123 agreement itself to implement the deal for transfer of nuclear fuel, materials and technology to India. The Bush administration expects the process to be completed by December.