PM trying to show US 'trophies' on nuke deal at behest of sacrificing nation's laws: BJP

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday dubbed the government's proposed move to dilute a clause in the Nuclear Liability Bill (NLB) to favour American interests as plainly unacceptable, and demanded that Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh bring all facts on the deal into the public domain.

"The reports in the media that the government is trying to weaken the liability of the manufacturers, as far as atomic reactors is concerned with reference to Section 17 (b) of the Nuclear Power Liability Act. This is plainly not acceptable," Prasad said.

"The BJP is very firm that the security of the people of India is important. India's interest, India's sovereignty and India's nuclear autonomy is equally important," he added.

Prasad accused the UPA-led Central Government of attempting to show 'trophies' of its governance in the United States at the behest of bypassing constitutional laws.

"We would like the government to bring all the facts into the public domain and let the Prime Minister, who is on the verge of his departure from office after six months, should not bypass Indian laws to try and show some trophies in far away countries. That is plainly not acceptable.

Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Prakash Karat also supported the opposition's concerns, and said that if the Centre dilutes the law in the nuclear deal with the United States of America, it would be taken as an illegal act on their part.

"They can bypass anyone but they can't bypass the law of the country. The law of Parliament, clearly, we know they tried to dilute this law even while it was being discussed in Parliament, (but) the standing committee of Parliament rejected it," Karat said.

"If the Government of India wants to succumb to American pressure on this matter, I am afraid they will be shown up to have done an illegal act, which will be against the interest of the country. It is clear that the Americans want to sell the nuclear reactors on their terms, but they will have to abide by the law of the country," he added.

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According to reports, a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) note suggests that prior to his visit to the United States to attend this year's U.N. General Assembly session and to meet President Barack Obama on its sidelines, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appears to be keen to have a diluted version of the NLB signed.

The diluted NLB reportedly overlooks several key factors, including security concerns. According to a television channel, the CCS note details plans to bypass the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), a move that has raised questions.

Another channel said that the UPA Government has sought the opinion of Attorney General G E Vahanvati on the extent of the suppliers' liability.

Reports say that the government is keen on attracting huge foreign investment through nuclear commerce, and is therefore, under huge pressure from the United States to strike deals with American reactor builders like GE and Westinghouse, who see India's market for nuclear equipment as worth 175 billion dollars.

To facilitate this, the Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement was signed in 2008. It reversed a 34-year-old U.S. ban on supplying nuclear fuel and technology to India.

In 2010, Parliament passed the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, which creates a liability cap for nuclear plant operators for economic damage in the event of an accident.

It also leaves nuclear suppliers free of most liability.

Critics and activists say that nuclear operators and suppliers should be jointly and absolutely liable for civil damages in the event of an accident, and that their financial liability must be unlimited.

Potential nuclear equipment suppliers, including the United States, say India's nuclear liability law is too stringent.

They have particularly objected to clauses allowing the state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India, which operates all the nuclear plants in India, to seek compensation from nuclear suppliers in case of an accident due to faulty equipment.