CPM rebuffs govt's claim on historic NSG waiver

New Delhi, Sep 7 (UNI) Contesting the Manmohan Singh government's claim of major victory of getting NSG waiver in Vienna yesterday, the CPM today countered it at least on 11 counts including the voluntary moratorium on testing, restrictions on reprocessing technology and India becoming a part of the non-proliferation regime.

''The NSG waiver is in alignment with the 123 agreement and India will not get any better terms from other countries supplying fuel or reactors,'' CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said at a press conference here on the two-day deliberations at the party politbureau meet that ended today.

Speaking on a wide range of political and economic issues, Mr Karat said the US, not India, had got the deal through its own cartel, at the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Referring to a two-page separate statement by the politbureau that termed the NSG waiver as another surrender, Mr Karat said the NSG waiver is neither clean not unconditional and reflects the continuous concessions that India has made on this issue.

''The country is being subjected to an orchestrated barrage of propaganda terming the NSG waiver as a 'historical one'. The reality has been mercilessly exposed by the US State Department's interpretation of the 123 agreement which was sought to be kept secret,'' the statement said.

'' The restrictions on Enrichment and Reprocessing Technologies will in effect continue, as prescribed in the Hyde Act, India government's statement to the contrary not withstanding. The Hyde Act conditions will continue to bind India and its civilian nuclear programme,'' the statement said.

It said though India is not part of NSG, it has also agreed to abide by all NSG guidelines, abide by an Additional Protocol with the IAEA.

''As is in the Hyde Act Presidential review of India's actions, the NSG will also closely monitor and review all nuclear transactions by regular exchange of information on all nuclear transfers with India.

It is clear that the terms of NSG waiver afford every opportunity for any NSG country to block separate deal that India may contemplate with countries like France or Russia, the statement added.

UNI KSA RC HT1948