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Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007
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Yechury: onus of sustaining government is not on us

Staff Reporter

Left wants it to stay but without mortgaging sovereignty

NEW DELHI: Expressing the hope that the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal would not be operationalised, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday said the onus of sustaining the Central government was not on the Left but on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance coalition.

“Wherever we go, the first thing we are asked is how long will the government survive. People must ask the government how long it will stay. Our (the Left) agenda is very clear. It is the UPA government that has to decide. We want the government to stay, but not by taking India down that line that will mortgage our sovereignty and self-reliance.”

Mr. Yechury was delivering the “Ved Gupta Memorial Lecture” on the India-U.S. civilian nuclear deal organised by the Democratic Teachers’ Front at Delhi University here.

In a lighter vein, he said it was surprising that the “most hated President of the United States happened to be the best bet for India.”

“Anyone who has befriended George Bush has lost his job, be it in Britain or Italy. We do not want the same fate to befall Dr. Manmohan Singh,” he said.

Seeking to explain the context in which the deal came about and the text of the 123 Agreement, the CPI(M) leader said: “The common perception is that the deal is important to augment energy requirements of the country. We do not dispute that. But we must know what is the best and cost-effective alternative for achieving that. Compared with other sources like coal and water, nuclear energy is expensive.”

Mr. Yechury said, “The nuclear deal is anchored in the Hyde Act, as per which the U.S. President can terminate the 123 Agreement as and when he desires. So we get the fuel only as long as the agreement exists. Then where is the assurance of uninterrupted fuel supply to our reactors? Also, all imported reactors will have to be sent back once the agreement gets terminated.”

Mr. Yechury asserted that some of the assurances given by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were violated in the terms and conditions of the Act.

“The government says that the 123 Agreement is in accordance with the international laws, while the Hyde Act clearly says that national laws will prevail in the agreement. ”

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