New warmth in ties with US

As the PM’s hopes of sewing up the nuclear deal with SP support brightened, his government extended a rare gesture to the US at its July 4 Independence Day celebrations in Delhi. Breaking protocol to signal the paradigm shift in bilateral ties once the deal goes through, it sent external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee to US ambassador David Mulford’s Roosevelt House residence to mark the occasion.

Mukherjee gave the first official indication that the deal is on. In a brief speech, he assured Mulford of “full satisfaction’’ before his tenure draws to a close at the end of the year.

Interestingly, Mulford’s speech was almost a eulogy to Mukherjee, who is the chief architect of the compromise with the Left that kept the government and the deal afloat after last year’s flashpoint.