Hastert is a key figure and his support and goodwill could make a difference in getting his colleagues to go with the President on the civilian nuclear agreement.
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hosted a dinner for the visiting US delegation led by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, on Tuesday. Hastert is among a dozen American lawmakers who flew to India in the scorching April heat for a first hand assessment of the country with which President Bush wants to carve out a new strategic partnership.
With the fate of the India-US civilian nuclear deal now entirely in the hands of lawmakers, Delhi is all out to entertain the visitors. On Monday, senior Republican Senator Chuck Hagel called on Manmohan Singh and also met opposition leader and former foreign minister Jaswant Singh.
Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who returned from an assignment in Washington to take up his new responsibilities, also met Hagel. India was pleased when Hagel told reporters that assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher’s remarks on US pushing for India to declare its minimum deterrent had “puzzled” him. Hagel also said he hoped the deal would go through Congress before the November elections in both Houses.
Hastert, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, is a key figure and his support and goodwill could make a difference in getting his colleagues to go with the President on the civilian nuclear agreement. Hastert is meeting Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Wednesday. Chatterjee’s party, the CPM, however, is suspicious of American motives and had organised massive protests against US invasion of Iraq during President Bush’s visit to India in March.
Though the Left had not formally opposed the India-US civilian nuclear deal, it had rapped the government for voting against Iran at the IAEA in Vienna. The Left believes that Washington’s next goal is a regime change in Iran. Hastert would get a first hand account of the Left view of US foreign policy and its insistence that Manmohan Singh continue to follow an independent non aligned line India had traditionally championed. Hastert and his team are also scheduled to visit Agra and Jaipur.
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