NEW DELHI - India sought to put on a brave face on Sunday over an unexpected delay in the approval of a landmark nuclear deal with the United States amid nervousness in New Delhi that the controversial pact could slip away. The deal, which aims to give India access to US civilian nuclear technology for the first time in three decades, had been expected to be approved by the US Senate last week before it adjourned for elections in November.However, the chamber could not take up the bill due to differences between Republicans and Democrats despite both sides expressing strong support for the deal and pointing fingers at the other for the delay.
“The bill actually enjoys bipartisan support and it is our hope that this will find its way through US domestic legal procedures as soon as possible,” said India’s new foreign secretary, Shiv Shankar Menon. “I think our interest in the agreement, in it passing through Congress and our interest in the terms staying as they are, is quite clear,” Menon told reporters after taking office.