No changes in nuke Bill: S M Krishna

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has ruled out the possibility of any changes being made to the nuclear liability legislation passed by both houses of Parliament last month.

A week after the Rajya Sabha followed the Lok Sabha in passing the legislation, US State Department spokesman P J Crowley had suggested that the US still held out hopes of some changes being made to satisfy sections of industry in both countries that were upset with the bill not being compatible with the Convention on Supplementary Compensation.

However, in an interview in New York, Krishna made it clear that this was not a possibility. Pointing out that both houses of Parliament had passed the bill and it was now awaiting the President’s assent following which it would become the law of the land, Krishna said: “As a student of constitutional law, I’m afraid there is absolutely no scope for any further changes at this stage. ”

That may not be what the Obama Administration wanted to hear.

Speaking at a press briefing in Washington, DC on September 7, Crowley had said: “I think we continue our discussions with the Indian Government on this issue and we note that Indian business leaders are concerned about some specific aspects of that – the law that was just passed by Parliament, and we will look to the Indian Government to see what changes can be made.”

Asked whether recent irritants in Indo-US ties, such as India’s nuclear liability legislation and the US border security law which would raise H1B and L1 visa fees for some Indian companies, would come up in his scheduled bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton next Monday, Krishna said: “I don’t think they could be defined as irritants. There are different perceptions.” He said both countries would seek to safeguard their respective “enlightened self-interests”.

Krishna added that US President Barack Obama’s visit is very keenly awaited in India and predicted that it would be one of the most popular visits by a foreign leader to India. Responding to the recent statement by Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman that there could be no meaningful discussion about Kashmir between India and Pakistan if India continued to treat Kashmir as its integral part and sought a solution within the framework of the Indian Constitution, Krishna reiterated India’s position that Jammu and Kashmir was an “indivisible part of India, parts of which are under illegal occupation of Pakistan”.

But he said India was willing to discuss any issue, including Kashmir, with Pakistan.