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Indication on “secret” letter came in May

K.V. Prasad

NEW DELHI: While the contents of a letter from the U.S. State Department to the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the U.S. Congress on the nature of the civil nuclear cooperation has stirred a controversy now, the presence of such a communication was first reported four months ago.

On May 9, 2008, The Washington Post published a report stating that the State Department had asked the U.S. lawmakers not to disclose the answers and the Committee agreed because some data might be sensitive diplomatically.

The Post quoted a spokesperson of the Committee on the “gag order.” It said the civil nuclear deal was in such a position that the State Department had imposed unusually strict conditions to the answers it provided to questions posed by Congress members.

The State Department made the request even though the answers were not classified.

Subsequently on July 9, the Post carried another news report “Congress May not Pass U.S.-India Nuclear Pact, New Delhi could turn to other Nations,” in which the staff writer reiterated the pact to keep the answers a secret.

“Ever since the deal was struck, the administration has performed a balancing act between adhering to the letter of U.S. non-proliferation law and assuaging Indian concerns that it was not being treated like a true nuclear power. This year, when the administration answered nearly 50 questions posed by the Congress about a separate implementing agreement negotiated with India, it took the unusual step of insisting the answers remain secret for fear of torpedoing the agreement,” the Post reported.

On Thursday, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat did refer to the May 9 report and said party organ People’s Democracy commented on the development through an article.

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