The Hindu : Front Page : Between the lines of Kakodkar-speak, support for the nuclear deal

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Saturday, Jul 28, 2007
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Between the lines of Kakodkar-speak, support for the nuclear deal

Siddharth Varadarajan

“The agreement is consistent with national policy”

New Delhi: In his own comments on the text of the recently finalised bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States, the Government’s top nuclear man may have been laconic and understated but his endorsement of the deal rang clear.

Asked whether he was satisfied with finalised text, he answered monosyllabically, “Yes.” Asked again, he said, “I would describe this as satisfactory from the point of view of carrying forward our nuclear programme.”

When he was reminded about the unhappiness he had expressed in the past, he said: “The point is simple. Whatever I had said earlier was a part of national position. What I am saying now is national position. And this agreement is consistent with national policy. I have no reason to be unhappy.” Later, he said, “I was unhappy when [full cooperation] was not there.”

But in response to specific issues, Dr. Kakodkar was more forthcoming.

The objective

Asked whether the deal now allowed “full” cooperation, he said the objective was to make sure India benefited not just from reactors and fuel supplies but also in terms of accessing the additional energy in spent fuel in an “unhindered chain.” “This agreement,” he said, “gives advance consent rights for us to reprocess spent fuel and recover the material in a national safeguarded facility. So it allows us to derive the full benefit.”

To persistent questions about the consequences of a nuclear test by India given the Hyde Act’s unambiguous provision for the termination of cooperation, the three officials (including National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan) said the fuel supply assurances of March 2, 2006 were meant to cover the possibility of disruption.

“As far as we are concerned, [these] stand and will be carried out,” said Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon. “That’s our expectation.”

On his part, Dr. Kakodkar said, “The fuel supply assurances built into the March 2006 statement and this final draft agreement are entirely consistent.”

The agreement “in its final draft,” he said, “allows the country to continue its domestic programmes whether three-stage civil energy, R&D and strategic and access international cooperation. The rest is too speculative.”

The officials acknowledged that they had not succeeded in convincing the U.S. to include access to reprocessing and enrichment technology and equipment but said they looked forward to the Nuclear Suppliers Group making a “clean and unconditional exception” for India. “I could have a huge wish list,” said Dr. Kakodkar in response to a question.

“That’s not the point. What objectives did we set out with J18 and M2 and are we consistent with that? And the answer is yes.”

The scientists and staff of the Department of Atomic Energy were “karma yogis,” he added. “We carry the work on. This will allow us to carry on our work in the same manner.”

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