Click to play videoThe Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the 45-nation cartel which controls the nuclear fuel and equipment supply of the world, is meeting in Vienna in another attempt to agree terms which would help New Delhi to help finalise the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has put his prestige at stake for the nuclear deal. The Left Front pulled out of his Government in July over the nuclear deal, forcing a vote of confidence in Parliament. The Government won the trust vote but has failed to achieve political consensus for the deal.
The Washington Post on Wednesday published contents of a ‘secret’ letter written by the US State Department to the US Congress which says that nuclear commerce with India would be halted if it conducted a nuclear test.
The letter has outraged Opposition parties with both the BJP and the Left Front accusing the Prime Minister of lying about the nuclear deal and misleading Parliament. "The Government is guilty of gross breach of privilege of both houses of Parliament," said BJP leader Yashwant Sinha.
"Manmohan Singh should quit. They should either call Parliament (session), or resign," said CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat.
The BJP and Left say the Government has comprised national interest for the nuclear deal. Non-proliferation hawks at the NSG say India has not compromised enough. Has the Government concealed important facts about the nuclear deal? Has Manmohan Singh really misled the country on the nuclear deal?
Sagarika Ghose asked this on Face The Nation to Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad, CPI-M leader Nilotpal Basu and Dr Walter Andersen, acting director, South Asia Studies, Johns Hopkins University.
Allegations that the deal forbids India from conducting nuclear test are ridiculous, said Singhvi.
“It is an attempt to create an artificial storm in a non-existent teacup. The 123 Agreement has been there for all to read and see for the last two years.”
If India conducts a nuclear test, the deal says both sides would meet and decide what to do next. India’s sovereign right to conduct nuclear tests has not been compromised, he insisted.
National interest has been compromised and the Government has lied to the nation about the nuclear, said Prasad.
“The US State Department’s letter says the deal is off and there will be no transfer of nuclear technology or fuel if India conducts a nuclear test. But when the BJP used to raise these points the Government said the Hyde Act is not applicable. Dr Manmohan Singh and the UPA Government have misled the nation and Parliament,” he said.
The Left finds nothing secret or surprising in the US State Department’s letter and has all along said the UPA Government’s interpretation of the nuclear deal is different from that of the American government, said Basu.
“It (the letter) shows the authentic mind of the US administration. Their interpretation of the 123 Agreement is totally at variance given by the Indian government and the Prime Minister,” he said.
The nuclear agreement is not just between India and the US but India and the world, said Anderson. “This is an India-world deal and that is why it has been put up before the NSG and the IAEA. This deal removes the nuclear apartheid that India has faced for the past 35 years,” he said.
Prasad alleged America’s motivation for the deal was that it offers the country’s nuclear companies “very big commerce” in India.
“A lucrative market would open for American companies—America will get all the benefits. The deal gives no assurance of supply of nuclear technology and fuel to India and it doesn’t permit tests. The Government had given assurance for all these three things in Parliament,” he said.
Anderson disagreed and said nations other than America would more likely to benefit from the deal commercially. “
The likely countries to benefit from the nuclear construction in India would be France and Russia. This is not a deal which would necessarily would lead to a big bonanza for US companies. The US nuclear construction industry is quite limited,” he said.
The US State Department’s letter is nothing extraordinary but routine communication between government and legislators.
Web/SMS poll:Has Manmohan Singh really misled the country on the nuclear deal?
No: 53 per cent
Yes: 47 per cent
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