The Hindu : Front Page : UPA urged not to act in haste

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Friday, Aug 24, 2007
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UPA urged not to act in haste

Special Correspondent

Intellectuals caution against the India-U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement

“Foreign forces can wait while we build a consensus”
India is becoming part of a military alliance, they feel

CHENNAI: A group of prominent intellectuals has urged the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government to “not be in a hurry to take the next steps in the India-U.S. bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement.”

A statement signed by Aijaz Ahmad, Amiya Bagchi, Utsa Patnaik, Nirmal Chandra, Sunanda Sen, Prabhat Patnaik, Javeed Alam, Jayati Ghosh, C.P. Chandrashekhar , M.K. Bhadrakumar, K.N. Harilal, Anuradha Chenoy, Madhura Swaminathan, V.K. Ramachandran, Geeta Hariharan, Mohan Rao, Ritu Dewan, Praveen Jha, Vikas Rawal, Ayesha Kidwai, Archana Prasad, Smita Gupta, Dinesh Abrol, Rahul Roy, C.P. Narayanan, Kamal Mitra Chenoy, and Prabir Purkayastha said:

“We call upon the UPA government not to be in a hurry to implement the India-U.S. Bilateral Nuclear Cooperation Agreement. A majority in the Indian Parliament is opposed to this ‘Deal’. Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress itself has passed extensive legislation, known as the Hyde Act, which specifically circumvents the assurances Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave to our Parliament before that Act came into force in the US. Supreme legislatures of the two countries evidently hold positions that are irreconcilable.

“Considering that a majority of the Indian Parliament is opposed to the ‘deal’ as it currently stands, it is outrageous and despicable to suggest that a section of this opposition is taking its cue from China or Iran or elsewhere, or that foreign policy is being ‘communalised’. No one needs a certificate of patriotism from the communal forces and their friends in the media. As always, and especially in matters of foreign policy, we want the nation to speak in one voice. Foreign forces can wait while we build such a consensus within our own democracy.

“Strategic design”

“This ‘deal’ is part of a strategic design that began evolving with the secret Jaswant-Talbott negotiations and has been pursued by the NDA and UPA governments alike. India is fast becoming a member of a military alliance that includes not just the U.S. but also other countries such as Australia, Japan and Singapore. This has far-reaching implications for our sovereignty, independent foreign policy and relations with other Asian countries.

National debate

“We need time for a national debate on all such issues. The Left Parties have acted in a most responsible fashion in refusing to join the BJP-inspired moves to bring down this government. They have not demanded that the agreement be repudiated as such. We support the contention that the government not be in a hurry to take the next step that the U.S. side is demanding of us, and that it initiate comprehensive mechanisms for all-sided discussions with a view to developing a national consensus.”

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