The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, New Delhi

Indian Premier Manmohan Singh Wednesday made a fresh appeal to his government's left-wing allies and the opposition to drop objections to an endangered nuclear energy pact with Washington.

Singh, who has been pushing the deal that would allow India to buy technology and power plants without signing global non-proliferation pacts, said he was hopeful it would be finalised soon, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

Wednesday's appeal is being seen as a last ditch effort by Singh to get the deal through before US President George W Bush, a staunch supporter of the pact, leaves office at the end of the year and India holds national polls by May 2009 at the latest.

"Our domestic politics has prevented us from going ahead. I will still continue to hope that we will make progress in the months ahead," the agency quoted Singh as saying.

The pact, which has to be passed by the US Congress before the November presidential polls, would end India's three-decade long exclusion from global nuclear commerce, Singh said.

"This agreement, if it materialises, if sees the light of the day, will open new possibilities of cooperation not only with the US but also with other nuclear powers like Russia and France," he said.