NEW DELHI (AFP) — India's ruling Congress party held a new round of tense talks Wednesday with its communist allies, who are trying to block a nuclear energy deal with the United States, its leaders said.
The discussions, however, remained inconclusive, with the two sides agreeing to continue talks next month.
"The discussions were constructive and will continue at the next meeting of the committee," Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters after the meeting.
Mukherjee heads a 15-member committee set up by the government this month to review objections by its left-wing allies to the nuclear accord.
The meeting came a day after Communist Party leader Prakash Karat demanded the government shelve the controversial accord with Washington for six months.
The pact, if implemented, would allow energy-hungry India to buy civilian nuclear technology while possessing nuclear weapons, despite not having signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
But the communists, who prop up the government in parliament, say the deal would bring traditionally non-aligned India uncomfortably close to the United States and could limit its nuclear weapons programme.
The committee, whose members include lawmakers from the Congress and leftist parties, held one unsuccessful meeting earlier this month.
The row between the government and leftist parties has been described as the most serious to rock the coalition since it came to power in 2004 and has sparked the possibility of a general election more than a year ahead of schedule.
The dominant Congress party of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, however, has been lobbying hard for the nuclear accord to be moved forward -- arguing the country's booming economy is in desperate need of all energy options.
It has scheduled talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on inspections as a precursor to being given access to nuclear fuel, and foreign ministry sources said IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei was due to visit India in the next four weeks.
The deal also requires the approval of the US Congress before it can be implemented, and New Delhi must also conclude an agreement with the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers' Group before it can buy power plants and technology.
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