Rajya Sabha to debate Indo-US nuclear deal

New Delhi, Sept 6: The Indo-US nuclear deal will be discussed in the Rajya Sabha today.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said the Chairman of the House has been requested to re-schedule discussion on Indo-US nuclear deal which was earlier slated for September 11.

The debate over the deal will be discussed in Lok Sabha on Monday.

Demanding the formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) instead of a UPA-Left Committee, senior BJP leader V K Malhotra said the party was not opposed to participating in the debate, though it will stick to its demand for a JPC.

A formal decision will be taken today at the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting.

The BJP, Shiv Sena and the Third Front said that formation of the UPA-Left Committee instead of the JPC was an "insult" to Parliament and the nation.

Commenting on the BJP"s demand, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee firmly said that there was no question of the government conceding to opposition"s demand.

The UPA-Left Committee constituted was not a government committee but an internal committee of the UPA and its allies.

On Wednesday, the Parliament was adjourned after BJP attacked the Government for making a 'private' committee to review the deal.

However, the adjournment helped leaders of the Left parties and the Congress to reject the BJP's demand in unison.

Ruling out constitution of a JPC for the nuke deal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi said: "This is nothing but an attempt to prevent the debate on the Sachar Committee."

Earlier, the UPA Government announced the name of the members of the 15-member political panel consisting of coalition leaders and the Left, who provides a crucial support to the Government from outside.

The committee, which has External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee as the convenor, comprises six Congress leaders, six leaders of the Left Front and one from UPA constituents RJD, DMK and the NCP.

Mukherjee's senior cabinet colleagues A K Antony, P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Saifuddin Soz, Prithviraj Chavan, Lalu Prasad of RJD, T R Baalu of DMK and Sharad Pawar will be the other members representing the government.

Left parties will be represented by Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), A B Bardhan and D Raja (CPI), Debabrata Biswas (Forward Bloc) and T J Chandrachoodan of RSP.

ANI
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