WASHINGTON, April 26: The United States has ruled out any changes in its nuclear deal with India to satisfy leftist allies of the Indian government who oppose the agreement.

“This really is an issue that is in the Indian government’s court,” said State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack when asked if the US government would amend the deal to make it more acceptable to its Indian critics.

“If they are going to resolve their issues within their own political system, it’s going to be up to them to do so, based on the agreement that’s on the table,” he said.

Some in India have suggested amending the Henry Act of 2006, which provides a legal framework for civilian nuclear cooperation between the United States and India, pointing out that there were inconsistencies between the act and the 123 Agreement.

Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act establishes an agreement for cooperation as a prerequisite for nuclear deals between the US and any other nation.

US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, however, did not “see any inconsistency between the Hyde Act and the 123 Agreement. The requirements of US law are requirements on us, for us to meet,” he said, noting: “The essential function of the Hyde Act was to allow this to happen, to empower us, to engender, to enable a nuclear deal with India.

“What we were allowed to do and required to do under the Hyde Act, was to negotiate our posture as negotiator was consistent with the Hyde Act and, therefore, we think that the deal that we negotiated is consistent with the Hyde Act,” he said.Mr McCormack also put the ball squarely in India’s court. “We hope to be able to work hard on the civil nuclear agreement when the Indians say the time has come to move forward again,” he said.The State Department’s comments followed a visit to Washington by a senior official of the ruling Congress Party to convince the Americans that India was still interested in the deal.

“We want the deal but the ruling coalition is also conscious that there can’t be a deal without a government,” Abhishek Singhvi told a Washington think tank.

He said that although it’s important to “carry along all constituents” of the Indian government, “we haven’t given up. Nor do we accept it as end of the road.”

Mr Singhvi said that the Indian government still had 10 to 12 months to complete it though it would like to finish it with the Bush administration.

Mr Boucher, however, did not share his optimism. When asked to explain where the deal stood now, he said Washington was “still a bit worried about it all.”

Mr Boucher said the Bush administration was now waiting for India’s response before deciding what to do about the deal.

“They’ll be the ones to tell us when it’s time to go to the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, when it’s time to go to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, and when we can get it to our Congress.”

New Delhi needs to secure an India-specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA and a nod from the NSG before the nuclear deal can be put before the US Congress for its final approval.

“But, as I said, every day that goes by makes it harder,” Mr Boucher said, citing Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Joe Biden’s statement in New Delhi that “unless we can get this deal up to the Congress in June so they can deal with it in July, it’s going to be really hard to get approval from the Congress.”

“Okay, that’s just a fact of life in the United States. That’s the congressional calendar, and we’ve got to get their approval to do this. So every day that goes by, makes it harder and harder and harder to get that done,” Boucher said.

The deal was initiated in July 2005 when Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the White House and has since been approved by the US Congress as well.