Don't give up on N-deal: US senator tells PM

US Senator John Cornyn, the founder and co-chair of the Friends of India Caucus in the US Senate with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, has exhorted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to throw in the towel on the US-India civilian nuclear deal. Cornyn also urged Dr Singh to try and resurrect the deal from the life-support it is on now.

The Senator, who was keynoting the silver jubilee celebration of the Indian American Forum for Political Education held on Capitol Hill, said he was 'very discouraged' to hear that the deal was almost dead in the wake of the Left Front's opposition.

"I hope Prime Minister Singh does not give up," said Cornyn.

"I am discouraged, but I remain optimistic," he said, and added, "I guess in my line of work, in politics, unless you are a optimist, then you ought to give up and do something else for a living because there are too many areas to be discouraged, and if you become cynical or you give up, then there is no hope."

Cornyn said, "I know how much time and effort has been invested, both by India and by the United States, in the India-America civilian nuclear agreement."

"And I know how strongly Prime Minister Singh and President Bush feel about the importance of this initiative," he said. Cornyn reiterated his "disappointment to read of the difficulties that are occurring in India regarding Parliamentary approval of this agreement."

"But I hope that Prime Minister Singh does not give up—that we continue to work toward this mutually beneficial arrangement where India can gain access to low-cost energy through increased access to civilian power. The United States and India can continue to work together not only as strong economic allies, but also as strong allies in the war on terror," said Cornyn, who was among the first in the US Senate to endorse the deal when the Bush administration first proposed it two years ago.