Australia may sell uranium to India

Australia may sell uranium to India if it accepts a submission from its foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer. So far, India''s refusal to sign the NPT for being discriminatory has come in the way of Australia supplying uranium to India.

Australia''s national security committee will take up Downer''s submission, once it is placed before it.

The move has the backing of prime minister John Howard who is expected to bring into play electoral politics ahead of the Australian federal elections to push for opening up uranium exports to India.

The move is certain to be opposed by and its leader Kevin Rudd the labour opposition leader and his Federal Labour party, which has traditionally opposed uranium sales to India on the grounds that it would undermine the NPT.

The opposition is expected to increasingly corner Rudd, who will be seen as opposing India, the US and the Australian uranium industry, which stands to gain from exports to India.

Moreover, Howards is banking on the Australian voter asking why labour opposes Australia''s uranium exports to India, when the country already supplies it to China.

India has an impeccable record of never having proliferated nuclear technology to anybody else, but China has been accused of complicity in the exporting of nuclear technology.