Pelosi visits India

NEW DELHI, March 18 (UPI) -- The stalled India-U.S. civilian nuclear deal reportedly will top U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's agenda during her five-day trip to India.

The visit, beginning Wednesday, will be an "India only" trip by the powerful U.S. legislative leader, indicating the importance of the visit, the Press Trust of India reported.

Among those she will meet is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who along with U.S. President George Bush, structured the civilian nuclear deal in a climate of improving India-U.S. relations.

The speaker, like other recent official U.S. visitors, is expected to emphasize it is time to present the deal to U.S. Congress for ratification.

The civilian nuclear deal would allow India to get civilian nuclear technology and fuel from the United States, ending India's isolation from other nuclear powers and meeting India's growing power demand.

But Singh's government has watched the deal languish because of continued strong opposition to it from leftist parties in the ruling coalition.

Rejecting the Left's claims, Indian officials have said the deal won't adversely impact India's military program.

India's leftist parties are trying to stop the government from making the deal operational through meetings with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group.