July 11, 2008	Friday	Rajab 7, 1429

NEW DELHI, July 10: India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked for a vote of confidence in his government after his communist allies withdrew their support to protest a nuclear deal with the United States.

The date will be announced on Friday. The decision came after Singh met President Pratibha Patil.“The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh called on the president today,” said a statement from the president’s office.

“He stated that he and his cabinet colleagues are keen to seek a vote of confidence as early as possible.”

Singh’s four-year-old government has secured the backing of the key regional Samajwadi Party, but it is still unclear if the ruling coalition has enough votes for a parliamentary majority.

A defeat for the government in a no-confidence vote would trigger an early election, probably destroying chances of the nuclear pact going ahead and sparking political uncertainty just as the country struggles with record inflation and rising interest rates.

The government still needs several votes from other smaller parties, and must hope there is no rebellion within the ranks of the Samajwadi Party against the nuclear deal, which critics say gives the United States too much influence over India.

India’s 543-member house includes scores of small parties from dozens of ethnic groups and castes, making it unclear whether the government has the necessary support.

Indian markets were hit last week by the uncertainty but have since welcomed the communists’s exit. Signs of stability helped prevent sharp losses in the Indian rupee on Thursday.

The nuclear pact’s approval would be a victory for Singh, giving India access to US resources and technology and moving the Asian giant’s trade and diplomatic relations closer to the West as it seeks fuel sources for a booming, trillion-dollar economy.

India has submitted a draft plan to the International Atomic Energy Agency, detailing how India’s civilian nuclear facilities would be monitored internationally, a crucial step to finalising a deal first agreed in 2005 between Singh and U.S. President George W. Bush.

Dates for both the confidence vote and an IAEA board of governors meeting to consider India’s nuclear document were still unclear, although both were expected later this month.—Reuters