'Misgivings persist over Indo-US N-deal'

There is still some distance to be covered before the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal is fully wrapped-up, with persisting misgivings in certain quarters in both the countries, an Indian parliamentary delegation said at a US think tank in Washington.

Participating in a panel discussion on 'US-India relations and global affairs' at the Center for Strategic and International Affairs, the leader of the delegation B J Panda of the Biju Janata Dal said, "We still have the last mile left before the closure of the civilian nuclear deal."

He said Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns had told the members that 'things had been going reasonably well.'

Relationship between India and the US are becoming 'institutionalised' and not dependant on election outcomes, remarked Congress parliamentarian Sachin Pilot.

Commenting on the Indo-Pak peace process, Pilot said, "Strong, stable and prosperous Pakistan is in the interests of India."

On efforts to restart the Doha Round of trade talks, Pilot said the real problem was between the US and the European Union over the issue of subsidies to the farmers. "Agriculture is tremendously important for India. It is not only an economic issue but political and social as well," he said.