It is to be noted that a considerable number of Democrats voted against the Bill moved by party colleague Howard Berman. While House Republicans voted 178-10, the widely split Democrats, who control the US Senate, voted 120-107.

US congressional nod is the last hurdle in the way of the pact. Once the Senate approves the bill, it would be ready for signing between the two countries. It has already been decided that secretary of state Condoleezza Rice will visit Delhi on October 3. On her official visit to Delhi, she may ink the agreement with External Affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee.

When reporters asked him about the Senate approval, he said, "I’m told they will get around it.” After the approval, President Bush said, "I urge the Senate to quickly take up and pass this important piece of legislation before their October adjournment. Signing this bipartisan bill will help strengthen our partnership with India". Bush also added, "I congratulate the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 7081, the United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Non-proliferation Enhancement Act. The passage of this legislation by the House is another major step forward in achieving the transformation of the US-India relationship."

Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said, "Historic agreement to operationalise the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Deal is nearing fruition. India will be liberated from the constraints of technology denial of 34 years."

The vote could not take place on Friday despite clear support for it, as the required House quorum — two-thirds of the members — could not be achieved. Mukherjee left for the US on Saturday night to give the final touches to the deal. The Indian American community, which has acted as a powerful lobbying group for the nuclear deal, has expressed jubilation over the passage of the US-India nuclear deal.