Nuke deal goes nuclear with Indian bribery allegations

That’s the allegations, at least, about the Indian parliament’s pending approval of a nuclear deal with the U.S., proposed more than two years ago.

The government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh survived a no-confidence vote that he instigated, which essentially gives the nuclear deal a green light for passage.

The bribery allegations?

Three lawmakers with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P., charged that Mr. Singh’s new allies, with a North Indian regional party called Samajwadi, had offered them roughly $750,000 each in exchange for abstaining from the confidence vote. …

Adding to the mystery, a private news television station, called CNN-IBN, said it had acquired what it called a “cash for vote” tape in the course of an investigation into alleged bribes. The station did not air the tape, but said it had handed it over to the speaker of the parliament, Somnath Chatterjee.

That would be serious dinero in the U.S. In India, it’s huge. Think of $3-$4 million bribes to U.S. Congressmen.

The big winner in all this? Kumari Mayawati, the politician who leads the party representing the Dalits, the “untouchables” of Hinduism’s caste system.

Read the whole story for a good primer on Indian politics.

That said, it wasn’t the height of U.S. election season when President Bush unveiled the proposal in early 2006. And, the GOP controlled Congress. So, let’s just see how this all plays out.

I’m guessing no Congressional vote until we get to the post-election lame-duck session.