The Hindu : Front Page : “India will lose much if it backs out of deal”

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 01, 2007
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“India will lose much if it backs out of deal”

M.R. Srinivasan, however, admits that the Hyde Act is not in favour of India

M.R. Srinivasan

Kochi: The former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, M.R. Srinivasan, has warned that India stands to lose much more than access to U.S. nuclear technology if it backs out of the atomic deal. He said that nuclear cooperation with Russia and France could also be in the doldrums.

Failure of the deal would see India being denied not only access to a permanent source of energy but overseas nuclear technology too, said Mr. Srinivasan, a member of National Security Advisory Board while delivering a lecture on “Indo-U.S. Nuclear Agreement and its Impact on Indian Economy” on Tuesday night.

Mr. Srinivasan said without the agreement the country would lose much more. “Not only access to American nuclear technology, but cooperation with Russia and France will also be hit,” he said.

However, he acknowledged that the Hyde Act, the basis for the deal, was not completely in favour of India.

“Probably the Act does not allow us a further nuclear test and has a provision regarding termination of treaty in that,” he said.

Mr. Srinivasan said any agreement reached between India and the U.S. would not completely satisfy both. “If we had a political consensus, the current situation would not have arisen.”

The Left parties should set aside their concerns on India entering into a treaty with the U.S. “In the coalition era we are living in, it is best that a measure of consensus is built on vital issues, including the deal,” he said.

Besides the Left parties, the BJP had expressed its reservations about the accord, Mr. Srinivasan said.

“The situation now is that there will be a discussion in Parliament and if the majority in the House say ‘no,’ I do not know how they will go ahead.”

“The merits of the agreement have not receded in the complexity of our political situation,” he said.

India had built a strong base in the nuclear field, prompting the U.S. to cooperate with the country, he said.

In the coming years, the country would require more energy to keep pace with the growing economy. — PTI

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