Click to play videoNew Delhi: A confidential letter written by the Bush administration to its Congress has created a stir in India. The opposition cries foul and the government goes into a huddle to generate a response.
This nuclear “secret” letter came out just few hours before the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) meets in Vienna to discuss the waivers for India. It clearly reads, “The US will terminate nuclear trade if India conducts a nuclear test,”
Immediately after India got to know about the letter, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called an emergency meeting with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and National Security Advisor M K Narayanan at his residence 7 Race Course Road in New Delhi.
The meeting was called to discuss the fallout of the letter. A small noisy group of protestors affiliated to the Communist Party of India- Marxist
(CPI-M) started chanting the slogans against the deal outside the Prime Minister’s residence.
“The correspondence of Bush administration has exposed and contradicted whatever the PM of India assured people of India and floor of the house,” says national secretary Communist Party of India (CPI) D Raja.
“The fault lies with the government of India,” says senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha.
“The United States will not sell sensitive nuclear technologies to India and would immediately terminate nuclear trade if New Delhi conducted a nuclear test,” adds the letter.
Maintaining India’s stand, the External Affairs Minister says, “So far issue of testing out position is well known. Our position is clear .We have unilateral moratorium on testing. This is reflected on Indo - US joint statement on July 18, 2005.”
But the release of the letter by Howard Bermen ahead of the NSG meeting in Vienna suggested an attempt by the non proliferation lobby in the US to derail the waiver for India.
That concern may well have prompted the Core Group meeting at 7 RCR, despite the public facade of confidence and encouraging reports from Vienna. The government is aware that the NSG waiver is finely poised and could go either way.
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