No headway in Nuke talks: Left should end uncertainty

  • 08/05/2008

  • Central Chronicle (Bhopal)

The UPA-Left committee meeting on Indo-US nuclear deal ended as before without any positive decision on Tuesday. It has been decided to meet in New Delhi again on May 28 after the government made a vain bid to get the outside allies' support for going ahead with securing the India-specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. According to the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee the Left members have sought more clarification on the civil nuclear agreement. In fact the Left does not want the deal to go through as in their view the Hyde 123 Act is in no way favourable to India. Forward Bloc leader Debabrata Biswas, who also attended the meeting, said the government wanted the Committee to give a go-ahead to it to get the approval of IAEA's Board of Governors for the safeguards agreement but they sought clarifications on the issue. The Left parties will meet on 23rd May to decide their strategy ahead of the committee's next meeting, Biswas said. When Russia is in favour of the deal then why should not the Indian parties go ahead. In the meeting to be held on May 28, the government would give information to the Left about the facts of the deal to be arrived with the IAEA. It may be noted that India has a good quantity of uranium with it. Looking to the growing demand for power, the production of the same has become essential through nuclear means. According to the experts the sooner we have the deal the better. "The nuclear deal is a joint enterprise between India and the US and therefore "we have to work together to make it a practical reality." The Bush administration has given time up to July. Once this deadline is over the problems would be increasing continuously.