NEW DELHI: Contents of a “secret” letter published in The Washington Post, just ahead of Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG)’s meeting in Vienna has raised a political storm in India, with those opposed to the Indo-US nuclear deal demanding resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government.
The controversial contents made public by Republican Howard L. Berman, chairman of House Foreign Affairs Committee, are viewed as at variance with the stand maintained by India so far. The 26-page letter states that the United States would help India deal only with “disruptions in supply to India that may result through no fault of its own,” such as trade war or market disruptions.
“The fuel supply assurances are not, however, meant to insulate India against the consequences of a nuclear explosive test or a violation of nonproliferation commitments,” the letter says.
Singh has discussed the issue with Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee and National Security Adviser M.K. Naryanan. Besides, he has asked US envoy India, David Mulford, about steps being taken by Washington for the NSG waiver.
The extremist opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) yesterday demanded immediate resignation of Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Blaming Singh for “misleading” the Parliament, the BJP said that in view of “gross breach” of privilege of both houses of Parliament, an immediate session should be convened “within the shortest possible time” to enable the BJP to move a privilege motion against the PM if the UPA did not quit.
Addressing a press conference, senior BJP leader, former Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said: “The Manmohan Singh government has no business to continue in office and should leave immediately.”
“It is now crystal clear that India will lose the right to conduct nuclear tests forever as a result of this agreement,” Sinha said. With the information given by Indian government and the US administration being “diametrically opposite to each other,” Sinha accused the UPA government of having propagated false information on the nuclear deal.
Blaming UPA for having cheated people of the country on nuclear deal, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary Prakash Karat said: “We knew it three months back. The government has cheated the people of the country.”
The letter has posed a dilemma for Samajwadi Party (SP) also, which helped UPA win trust vote on July 22 following withdrawal of their support by left bloc legislators and others. Acknowledging that contents of the “secret” letter were at variance with what Congress party had said, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said that he was caught in a “duvidha” (dilemma). “I will study this (letter) properly before I can react,” he said.
International talks resumed in Vienna yesterday on the contentious US plan to sell peaceful nuclear technology to India. William Burns, US undersecretary of state for political affairs, told reporters in Vienna he saw “steady progress” and said Washington held out hope that the embattled negotiations would produce a deal by today. “The United States believes firmly that the step we’re considering for India will strengthen nonproliferation,” said Burns.
He is the top envoy to deliberations being overseen by the Nuclear Suppliers Group — the global body that governs the legal trade in nuclear materials. But opponents, which include several small countries such as Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland have serious misgivings about engaging in nuclear trade with New Delhi.
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, denounced the proposal as “unsound and irresponsible” and urged the 45-nation nuclear group to reject it.
An initial round of talks on the plan last month ended in deadlock after more than a dozen opposing countries argued against reversing more than three decades of US policy outlawing the sale of nuclear material to India for civilian use.
— With input from agencies
