Government wins confidence vote

By Surojit Gupta

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government won a vote of confidence in parliament on Tuesday, ensuring the survival of the ruling coalition and a civilian nuclear deal with the United States.

The government said it would now push ahead with the pact, which would give India access to foreign nuclear fuel and technology and end decades of isolation, as well as work towards reforms to liberalise the trillion-dollar economy.

"This will send a message to the world at large that India's head and heart is sound, that India is prepared to take its rightful place in the comity of nations," Singh told reporters. "I have always said the deal was important and now we know it."

The United States welcomed the support for the deal in India's parliament.

"We will work closely with the government of India in the days ahead for a rapid completion of the ratification process through the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the U.S. Congress," David C. Mulford, the U.S. ambassador to India, said in a statement.

The Indian government's joy at its victory was tempered by a bribery scandal, after opposition lawmakers interrupted the debate to wave wads of cash to protest against what they said were bribes offered by the government to abstain.

The furore was described as one of the lowest points in parliamentary history, and led to fresh demands for Singh to resign, and catcalls preventing him from delivering his concluding remarks after the two-day debate.

The run-up to the confidence vote in the world's largest democracy was marked by both sides wooing regional and caste-based parties.