Govt must not succumb to US pressure on N-deal, warns Left

Left parties today warned the government that it would commit an "illegal act" if it tried to dilute the Civil Nuclear Liability Act or signed any agreement for supply of nuclear reactors during the upcoming US visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"If the government wants to succumb to US pressures (to clinch a deal), I am afraid they will be shown as having done an illegal act which will be against the interests of the country," CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat told reporters here.
"The effort of the Manmohan Singh government to dilute the Civil Nuclear Liability Act to exempt US suppliers of reactors from the liability clause will be an illegal attempt to bypass the law passed by Parliament," he said, adding, "The Americans want to sell the reactors on their terms but they will have to abide by the laws of this country..."

Karat was reacting to reports that government was moving to clear a deal to acquire nuclear reactors from US major Westinghouse Corp and sign an agreement during Singh's visit.
Asserting that no one could bypass the law laid down by Parliament - the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010 - Karat said, "We know they (Government) tried to dilute the law but the Standing Committee rejected it."
"It is evident that the UPA government is succumbing to the pressure of the US administration to safeguard their companies' interests. But this cannot be at the expense of the interests of the country and the safety and security of Indian citizens," the CPI(M) Politburo later said in a statement.

CPI National Secretary D Raja accused the government of becoming "a real suspect" on the nuclear deal and liability issues, saying, "The government is consciously going ahead to satisfy the US and dilute the laid-down law and now that has been exposed.