Washington, Aug. 12: Die-hard supporters of the nuclear deal with America within the UPA government are preparing a fallback strategy for continuing with the deal even if the Nuclear Suppliers Group imposes conditions on New Delhi that others within and outside the government consider unacceptable.

They have already persuaded South Block to reject an offer by Germany, chair of the NSG, to seat India as a “special guest” at the group’s meeting in Vienna on August 21 and 22.

According to US officials here who had first broached the idea in Berlin, a strong Indian presence in Vienna, including foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Anil Kakodkar, would have enabled New Delhi to defend the proposed exemption from NSG guidelines.

Supporters of the nuclear deal in New Delhi successfully argued against any Indian participation in Vienna on the ground that if India was not present at the NSG meeting, it could continue with the deal on the ground that it was not a party to any NSG decision that fell short of a “clean exemption”.

This is the same argument that the UPA government is using to live down the Hyde Act. It has argued that the prescriptive provisions of the act are America’s domestic business and that India is not bound by them.

In putting forth the same argument about a conditional NSG waiver, the government’s spin would be that India is not a member of the NSG, it has no locus standi in the group and that India did not in any way agree to be a party to the NSG decision on the waiver.

France and Russia are quietly lobbying NSG countries to agree to a formula in Vienna that will allow individual NSG members to engage in nuclear commerce with India as long as they are within the broad framework of existing global non-proliferation goals.

In doing so, individual countries will take into account India’s safeguards agreement and additional protocol with the IAEA, its separation plan for civil and military facilities filed with the IAEA and its stellar record in non-proliferation.

It is an argument that will also fit in with the Indian spin if there are conditions attached to an NSG waiver. Discussions are now under way in South Block on whether this spin can hold water even if Menon and other Indian officials go to Vienna before the NSG meeting to damp down proliferation worries among some countries.

The issue under discussion is whether such interaction by Menon will make India a party to an eventual NSG decision. In the run-up to the NSG’s meeting in 10 days, Germany, India and the US are co-ordinating their strategy for changing the group’s rules in favour of New Delhi.

According to diplomats in Vienna, the German strategy is to shore up a first line of defenders within the group who are staunchly for a clean exemption for India. These will include countries that want to sell nuclear equipment and technology to India such as France, Russia, the UK and, of course, the US and Germany.