Centre failed to address concerns in IAEA text: Left

"During the discussions of the UPA-Left committee, the government insisted that it should be allowed to complete the safeguards agreement to ensure uninterrupted fuel supply and corrective measures. Today, we find there is nothing in the text they claimed. In the agreement, there is no mention about any corrective measures", said CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat.

He also pointed out that unlike China and Russia, India can't pull out its reactors from the IAEA safegua-rds and its survei-llance on its own. Criticising the government's negotia-tions with the IAEA, Karat said, "The US may like to give us spe-cial benefits but those are not reflected in the agreement with the IAEA."

The Left Parties had these concerns: In case the US or other countries in the NSG renege on fuel supply assurances, will India have the ability to withdraw imp-orted or indigenous civilian reactors from IAEA safe-guards?

If we have to bring nuclear fuel from the non-safeguarded part of our nuclear programme for these reactors in case of fuel supply assurances not being fulfilled, will we have the ability to take it back again?

What are the corrective steps India can take if fuel supplies are interrupted by the US/NSG countries? What are the conditions that India must fulfill if the corrective steps are to be put into operation?