Government's claim over waiver is premature: CPI

New Delhi, Sep 6 (UNI) The Communist Party of India today said External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement which paved way for NSG waiver at Vienna, was a commitment by India to surrender its right for future research and development in nuclear technology, including the right to have strategic programmes.

Besides it seemed that India had given up its claim on transferring the dual use technology, the CPI said in a statement here.

Reiterating its stand that the UPA should not proceed with operationalisation of the 123 agreement till all ramifications of the NSG waiver became clear, the party also mocked at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement describing the NSG waiver to India as historic, saying it was not only premature but a deliberate' attempt by him to hide the adverse amendments incorporated in the final draft of the NSG waiver. "One has to wait for the full text of the waiver to understand all its ramifications for India," the CPI observed.

Refering to the Bush administration's letter to US Congress, the Leftists said it had made amply clear that the US would never allow transfer of sensitive technology of reprocessing and enrichment to India. "If that has been accepted for NSG waiver, then it is not a historic day but a black day for India as far as our nuclear programme is concerned. This waiver will kill our efforts to development the nuclear technology based on Thorium," the party said.

UNI KAS SP UCS1848