Beware of arm twisting tactics of US: Left to UPA

New Delhi, June 28: Airing their serious reservations on the US and India Nuclear Cooperation Promotion Act 2006 draft Bill, the CPI(M) today cautioned the Centre against the US tactic of arm twisting, asking it to uphold the country's sovereignty and the stated foreign policy commitments.

The CPI(M) Polit Bureau said it had four apprehensions on the Bill presented before the US House International Relations Committee as it" completely" contradicted the assurances given by the UPA government to the Parliament and the country that India would not fall prey to the USA's" carrot and stick policy."

Referring to the contents of the Bill, the Left party said firstly the presidential waiver would' cease to be effective" if India conducted a nuclear test." India's unilateral moratorium on conducting nuclear tests can not be subservient to such US conditionalities."

Referring to the Bill's condition that India would have to supplement the US efforts to" dissuade, isolate and if necessary sanction and contain Iran for seeking nuclear weapons," the CPI(M) said the US aimed at changing India's foreign policy to kow tow to its strategic global designs.

"Thirdly, the Bill seeks to enforce India to comply with the Fissile Material Cut-off treaty( FMCT) which India had in the past refused to sign on the grounds of its being discriminatory." It also took objection to the Bill containing a provision that the US President might first determine that India and the International Atomic Energy Agency( IAEA) had" concluded a safeguards agreement requiring the application of IAEA safeguards in perpetuity."

"It is completely contrary to the assurance given by the PM in both Houses of Parliament that India would approach the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA) for safeguards only after the US endorsed the July 18,2005 nuclear deal," the CPI(M) added.

UNI