Click to play videoNew Delhi: The joy of the passage of Indo-US civil nuclear deal by the US Senate on Thursday was dampened a bit when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that a nuclear test by India will result in "most serious consequences".
Reacting to Rice's statement, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that he did not wish to comment on the internal decision making process of any country.
"Every country has its internal decision making process. We do not wish to comment on that. We are concerned with 123 Agreement text. We have declared voluntary moratorium on nuclear test and we will make all efforts to bind by it," Mukherjee said.
"But we won't agree to any treaty bound commands," Mukherjee quickly added.
When it was pointed out that Bush Administration and the United States have played an enabling role in terms of the agreement and also at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), to an extent, is there going to be any sort of preferential treatment given to US firms, for instance, in the nuclear power sector, the External Affairs Minister said, "It is an open road to nuclear trade with interested countries. The trade rules will depend on the type of bilateral agreement we enter with countries concerned."
The 100-member US Senate on Thursday approved the Indo-US nuclear deal after a two-and-a-half-hour debate, paving the way for the much-touted and widely debated strategic pact to finally be signed by the two countries.
The deal cleared its last legislative hurdle with members from across the political divide supporting the landmark accord. An overwhelming 86 Senators voted for the deal, while 13 opposed it.
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