Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Debate on deal should continue, says Mani

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Congress (M) leader K.M. Mani said here on Monday that the debate on the Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement should continue irrespective of whether it was signed.

Inaugurating a seminar on the Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement, organised by his party’s youth wing, Kerala Youth Front (M), Mr. Mani said irrespective of the fate of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government, the country would have to sign the agreement sooner or later. Expressing his party’s full support for the agreement, Mr. Mani said the 123 agreement was an international treaty and in the U.S., such a document had the validity of a law. He contended that the provisions of the much debated Hyde Act were beneficial to India, which was looking forward to cheap nuclear power to spearhead its economic growth.

CPI(M) leader M.M. Lawrence said the agreement would only serve American interests and was against the interests of the country in the long run.

He wanted the Government to consider alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and coal to generate electricity for its economic development. Referring to the Iraqi invasion, he said the U.S. always harboured imperialist ambitions. It had overtaken Iraq on the specious argument that the country had nuclear weapons. It ousted and killed Saddam Hussein, but continued its occupation, sacrificing hundreds of youths in the war.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesperson M.M. Hassan said his party was ever ready to call the Left parties bluff. He alleged that the CPI(M) and other Left parties were talking the interests of China and Pakistan. Referring to the Chinese claims over Arunachal Pradesh, he said the CPI(M) had not displayed the kind of patriotism it should have when China claimed Indian territory.

Even though the CPI(M) talked a great deal about American imperialism, its Government in West Bengal did not have any qualms in inviting 14 American multinationals to invest in the State. Communist Marxist Party (CMP) leader C.P. John, while suspecting the U.S. motives in the agreement, said India’s economic development had reached such a stage that it did not matter whether it had to associate with the “devil” to surge ahead. The nuclear regime was a game and India should not hesitate to play it, as it was now sufficiently strong enough to firmly stand on its feet. The Hyde Act had thorns, but one does not reject a rose because it has thorns. Stating that the unprecedented growth in the manufacturing sector had led to the demand for power, Mr. John said the Left parties were ignorant of the past and the future. He appealed to them not to make America larger than its size and have faith in the country’s ability to stand on its own.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader M.P. Ramesh said the 123 agreement should be debated and decided by Parliament. His party was opposed to the nuclear agreement because it prevented India from becoming a weapons State and thereby posed a question on its sovereignty to decide on the nuclear issue. He said the Hyde Act was an India-specific law passed by the American Congress. The NDA government had survived the U.S.-imposed economic embargo after the Pokharan 2 blasts in 1998. The U.S. administration failed to get the NDA Government to sign an agreement on non-proliferation. The current agreement deviated from the BJP’s stand on the non-proliferation part, he pointed out. He also wanted to know why the Left parties had remained silent till the final stages of negotiations.

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