By IANS
Kolkata : US Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. Sunday met West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and discussed the India-US civil nuclear deal, which has been opposed by the communists, especially the latter’s Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
“The chief minister and I discussed the civil nuclear deal. The US believes it will help India meet its energy and environmental objectives. We remain committed to the deal,” Paulson Jr. said in a statement Sunday night.
“We respect India’s democratic process and we hope India will decide to implement the agreement as soon as possible,” he said.
The meeting assumes significance since Bhattacharya-led ‘Bengal lobby’ of the CPI-M had earlier expressed support for nuclear energy and tie-ups with any country for economic betterment.
Reformist Bhattacharya is keen to establish business ties with the US even though his party ideologically opposes the US foreign policy.
“The United States admires India’s progress over the last decade as a result of economic reforms from leaders such as the honorable chief minister (Bhattacharya). We discussed ways to increase investment in West Bengal,” he said in the statement.
“The US is very interested in increasing such investment,” he said.
Paulson, who began a four-day trip to India with West Bengal, said earlier in the day that India should move quickly in making operational the civil nuclear deal.
The Leftist parties that shore up the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre are opposing the nuclear deal.