Cabinet clears N-liability bill removing 'and'

New Delhi, Aug 20: After long controversies over the Nuclear Liability Bill on the word "and," the Union Cabinet finally cleared the bill on Friday, Aug 20 without the word in the text.

BJP leaders on Thursday, Aug 19 opposed the bill on the basis that government had changed the agreed text after their agreement.

BJP stated that placing the word "and" between the clause 17(A) and 17(B) makes a huge difference in the entire bill, which would have given extra facilities to the suppliers.

According to BJP leaders the bill, which they approved earlier was like:

Clause 17 of the bill allowed the operator of the plant to seek damages from the supplier if:

A) There's a pre-existing contract on liability between them

B) Or if there's gross negligence or willful act by the supplier

But adding the word "and," makes supplier liable only if there's a pre-existing contract with the government.

However, the government refused to comment so it's unclear how the draft got amended.

OneIndia News