Nuke power necessary for product mix: T R Baalu

New Delhi, Jul 21 (UNI) Shipping and Transport Minister T R Baalu (DMK) today said in the Lok Sabha that the Indo-US nuclear deal was necessary for meeting the target of producing 20,000 MW of nuclear power and ensuring product mix.

Taking part in the debate on the confidence motion moved by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr Baalu said India could ill-afford to miss the opportunity to join the nuclear mainstream, ending the technology denial regime.

The DMK leader expressed the confidence that the Left's confrontation with the UPA would prove to be a one-off affair, restricted to the nuclear deal, and that the communists would start supporting the government again.

Citing statistics, the Minister said economic parameters put the UPA government in a far better light than the NDA dispensation, which had raised kerosene prices three-fold while the Manmohan Singh regime had left the price untouched.

If BJP members were really pro-poor, they should vote for the confidence motion, he said.

UNI SN PK AS1650