Left wants Indo-US N-deal ratified by Parliament

New Delhi, June 30: Irked over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ''belying'' his assurance in Parliament on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the Left parties today demanded a constitutional amendment to make it binding on the Executive to get the nod of Parliament before entering into any ''bilateral or multi-lateral'' agreement.

Leaders of CPI, CPI(M), Forward Bloc and RSP said it was ''unfortunate'' that the Executive was not constitutionally bound to get such treaties ratified by Parliament.

They felt treaties that affect the whole country must have the sanction of Parliament and the constitution should be amended accordingly.

Talking to UNI, the Left leaders, while asserting that they would raise the issue in the monsoon session of Parliament, said it was strange that such an important deal had not been ratified by Parliament.

CPI leaders A B Bardhan and Shamim Faizi said the Prime Minister had assured that India would open its civilian nuclear facilities for IAEA inspections only after the deal gets the US Congress nod.

But the Draft Bill says the US will amend its Atomic Energy Act, vital to passing of the deal, only after India commits its facilities for IAEA safeguards in perpetuity, they added.

''It is putting the cart before the horse,'' Mr Bardhan said.

''In our country the executive (ministers) are going about signing any number of agreements -- be it bilateral or multi-lateral -- all of them binding on a vast country like ours with all their complexities and complications,'' Mr Bardhan said.

The CPI General Secretary emphasised since India occupied a leading geo-political position, the developing countries look up to it while approaching their problems in foreign policy, international trade and economic spheres.

''We do not approve of our ministers going abroad and signing deals with WTO and tell us at the end that this was done...

Parliament sanction should be a must for such deals,'' Mr Badhan said.

Endorsing Mr Bardhan's view, CPI(M) floor leader in the Lok Sabha Basudev Achariya said during debates in Parliament on the issue, the Left had always been demanding that any international deal or an agreement must have the sanction of Parliament.

''It has become necessary to amend the constitution for the purpose,'' he added.

Forward Bloc National Secretary G Devrajan stressed that all international treaties, particularly matters relating to economy and foreign policy, must get Parliament nod.

RSP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Abani Roy said the step had become all the more necessary ''as such deals contain terms and conditions by which the country commits itself to international obligations,'' he said.

The deal has met with strong opposition inside and outside the US Congress with the non-proliferation lobby expressing concerns about the precedent that the deal would set.

However, the deal passed a major hurdle with the 18-member Senate Foreign Relations Committee approving the proposal by 16-2 vote, yesterday.

The proposal now goes to the Senate floor for a vote probably later next month.

The Senate bill sets several conditions that must be met before India can be exempted from the nuclear export ban, including a requirement that the accord win support from the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a forty-five nation group that regulates global trade in nuclear technology and equipment.

UNI

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