NEW DELHI, 20 December 2006 — Displaying its displeasure against the India-US civil nuclear deal signed by President George W. Bush, India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cautioned the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance against being trapped in a “quicksand.”
Leading the opposition’s attack in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of Parliament, BJP member Arun Shourie said that the provisions of the act signed by Bush, showed that the United States aimed to “halt, rollback and eliminate” India’s nuclear capability.
Shourie also dismissed the point made in support of the deal that the country needed to import 35,000MW nuclear energy as uranium was costly. “This is a myth that we do not have enough uranium. Rather, India has 78,000 tons of known reserves of uranium,” Shourie said. Shortage of uranium was just a “temporary aberration” because of the problem of acquisition of tribal land, Shourie said.
Criticizing the government for supporting the deal, Shourie said that while four reactors were already under safeguards, the new deal would place as many as 14 reactors under safeguards. “The five nuclear weapon states together have 237 reactors, but only 11 of them are under safeguards,” Shourie pointed out. Claiming that the US strategy was to ultimately place all reactors under safeguards, the BJP leader said: “This is the game.”
Instead of turning to nuclear energy for electricity, Shourie suggested intensification of nuclear mining. Greater attention should be paid by the Indian department of atomic energy on redoubling research in breeder programs rather than “mortgage our security,” Shourie said. Although parties belonging to the left bloc and others such as the Samajwadi Party do not agree with the BJP on most issues, they have taken the same stand against the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Despite his party extending outside support to the Congress-led coalition, Samajwadi leader Shahid Siddiqui demanded yesterday that the act be scrutinized by Parliament. “Bring this act to the house. Let Parliament will see whether it is in accordance with the prime minister’s commitment,” Siddiqui said.
On Monday, reacting to opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani’s charge that Washington was “virtually dictating” what India’s nuclear policy should be, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted that the country’s “nuclear swaraj” (nuclear independence) will be maintained. But he also admitted that were “areas” in the bill which “continue to be a cause for concern to us” and these will have to be discussed with the United States during further negotiations before the deal comes into effect. The prime minister’s defense of the bill and his explanations have apparently been unconvincing. “The prime minister’s assertions are untenable as George Bush is bound by the legislation passed by the US Congress,” Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury said.
In view of US actions in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan, India should be cautious in negotiating with Washington on the nuclear deal, Ravi Prakash Verma, of the Samajwadi Party, said. Along the same line, Gurudas Dasgupta (Communist Party of India) said that their stand against the deal does not mean that “we suspect our government’s position, we suspect the bona fides of the US administration’s intent” in view of its past record on many issues.
