Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Nuclear deal

The passing of a bill on the Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear deal in the House of Representatives has been heralded by the U.S. in its characteristic rhetorical style as the beginning of a new era of cooperation between the two nations. But there is another bill waiting to be passed in the Senate, which has incorporated certain provisions that are violative of the July 18, 2005, agreement. It is important in this context that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh honour his assurance to Parliament — that if the end product of the U.S. legislative process is inconsistent with the agreement, the country can decide what to do with it.

Mahesh Kumar,
Thrissur, Kerala

The gestation period of the deal has been agonisingly long. Dr. Singh is not clear when he talks about the "determining factor." He should state without any ambiguity that India will not sign on the dotted lines unless the "end product" is one hundred per cent consistent with the parameters of the July 18 agreement. Except for the Congress, no one seems to believe that the deal is in the best interests of the nation.

Col. C.V. Venugopalan (retd.),
Palakkad, Kerala

Parliament should examine the deal closely and decide on the future course of action. This has become all the more necessary in view of doubts expressed by the opposition leaders and scientists about the U.S. shifting the goalpost. At stake is India's freedom to act.

Jacob George,
Changanasseri, Kerala

Without going into the details of the bill, I appreciate the fact that a majority of both the Republicans and Democrats voted for it. Unlike India, where the voting is strictly along party lines (even a whip is issued to ensure it), U.S. lawmakers have shown that they stand united when common interests are involved — promotion of the arms industry in this case.

V.K. Sharma,
Hyderabad

That the House of Representatives discussed threadbare a bill and voted unmindful of party affiliation deserves praise. Contrast this with India, where several bills have been passed without appropriate discussion purely on party lines. Former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh had to remind the MPs that the civilian nuclear deal is a national issue and should not be treated as a party matter. How well our representatives discuss the deal of such far-reaching consequence remains to be seen.

E. Krishna Rao,
Dindigul, T.N.

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