'Indo-US nuke deal can't bind India on future'

New Delhi, Jun 21: In a move that would have a bearing on nuclear strategy, Opposition National Democratic Alliance today petitioned President A P J Abdul Kalam that the present government should not be allowed to undo India's nuclear programme and majority of the MPs in the country were against the Indo-US deal which could not bind India in future.

Stating that there was a lack of consensus on nuclear programme and strategy, NDA Chairman and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, NDA Convenor George Fernandes and Leaders of Opposition L K Advani and Jaswant Singh took exception to the way Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 'deliberately' kept Parliament and the country in 'darkness' about the finalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal whereas detailed discussions were taking place in the U S Congress.

NDA said India's nuclear policy was not a programme of one party or one government, but a result of national consensus and strong will of the people. "The present day government can't be allowed to undo the work of the last sixty years and to cap India's strategic nuclear programme and expose the scientists to undue interference in their work from sources outside India. Such a deal can't bind India in the future", the leaders asserted.

They said there had been no consensus on the nuclear issue nor there was any effort on by the government to build such a policy.

"We believe that an overwhelming majority of MPs are against this deal", the leaders told Dr Kalam, himself an eminent scientist of repute.

Accusing Dr Manmohan Singh of 'repeatedly misleading' the Parliament on the nuclear dal, the leaders said the statements before the U S Congress were making it clear that India would neither get parity nor reciprocity under this deal struck in July 2005 as claimed by the Indian Government.

India, they said will continue to be treated in a discriminatory manner, a thing India had opposed all along. The statements before the U S Congress had taken away even the 'limited comfort' made to India in the July 2005 agreeement, the leaders said.

The separation of nuclear plants and facilities as civilian and military was difficult, expensive and unwarranted having a bearing on future strategic progamme. To conclude a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency and a subsequent additional protocol was fraught with complex dangers since inspections by the IAEA will be intrusive and will rob Indian scientists of the freedom they had enjoyed all along.

The leaders said that they believed that the text of the "123 agreement" with the US and safeguards agreement with the IAEA was already under negotiation. Whereas Indian Parliament was kept in dark about these negotiations, the US Congress was not. The paradox was that while detailed discussions were taking place on the future of Indian nuclear programme in the U S Congress and not in the Indian Parliament. The NDA leaders took exception to this discrepancy.

Other leaders who have signed the petition included BJP President Rajnath Singh and Janata Dal (United) President Sharad Yadav.

UNI

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