The Hindu : National : CPI(M) for nuclear power but not for deal with U.S., says Karat

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CPI(M) for nuclear power but not for deal with U.S., says Karat

Staff Reporter

We do not want U.S. to tell us that we can’t test
UPA government should decide whether it wants to become a “subordinate ally” of the U.S.

NEW DELHI: Dismissing any differences with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on the issue of nuclear power, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat on Saturday said his party was in favour of nuclear power but that did not imply it supported the India-U.S. nuclear deal.

“Mr. Buddhadeb spoke about nuclear power. We are for nuclear power but that does not mean that we are for the nuclear deal also,” he clarified, while addressing students at a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) convention organised by the students union against the deal.

“Not to help China”

Since a Chinese angle has been given to the controversy recently, Mr. Karat sought to set the record straight. “People say we are against the deal to help China. I want to ask how? China wanted India to sign the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty, but we never said that the country should do so,” he said.

Pointing out that both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party did not want a debate on the issue, Mr. Karat said: “The BJP does not want to start a debate as they are the ones who began this talk. Our stand is not the BJP stand. We have never advocated nuclear weaponisation but at the same time we do not want the U.S. telling us that we can’t test. Testing is our sovereign right.”

Maintaining that the United Progressive Alliance government had to decide if it wanted to become a “subordinate ally” of the U.S. or not, he said it was difficult to change the mindset of the establishment but it was “our duty” to make an attempt to do so.

“Americans have packaged the deal in such a way as to tell India that they will help it become a great power. Unfortunately, many in the ruling establishment believe this. If we allow the deal to go through, we will be tying our country to the strategic global interests of the U.S.”

Referring to the Hyde Act, Mr. Karat said: “As far as we are concerned the Hyde Act is there. The Hyde Act provisions are not just objectionable but also have serious implications for the sovereignty of our country. The Government seems to be determined to go ahead with the deal. But we want a discussion. They should tell the U.S. that the country needs time to make its mind. We can’t accept the timeframe given by the U.S. But they (the Government) are not prepared to wait. We ask why. That is because they have committed a lot of other things along with the deal.”

“After Japan, India is a prize for the United States in Asia. Nothing else explains the eagerness of the Bush administration to implement the deal. The country is divided. There is one camp which feels going with the U.S. is best for the country and India can fulfil its potential only by allying with America. And there is another group that feels that if we have to become big, we have to do it on our own strengths,” he said.

Legal lacunae

Earlier, JNU faculty member, Prof. B. S. Chimni cautioned that there were certain legal lacunae in the deal that “could come to haunt us later.”

Jayati Ghosh, a professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, said that India only seemed to be keen on strengthening cooperation with the U.S. instead of developing other alternatives.

Utsa Patnaik, who chaired the session, remarked that the nuclear deal was not just about energy needs but had much wider repercussions, like the integration of India as a subordinate into the U.S. camp.

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