The Hindu : National : Centre misled country on deal, says CPI (M)

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Centre misled country on deal, says CPI (M)

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Charging the government with having “consistently misled” the country on the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear agreement, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday said the Presidential ‘determination’ by George Bush to the U.S. Congress “once more exposes the Manmohan Singh Government”

In a statement, the party Polit Bureau said the determination contradicts the claims made by the government of India that it has got guarantees for permanent fuel supplies and on perpetual safeguards.

The covering note of the determination states that there are no legally biding assurances on the U.S. for fuel supplies and it also makes it clear that the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards are in perpetuity and not as Indian officials have claimed.

Safeguards in perpetuity

India has accepted its safeguards in perpetuity. Further, it will be recalled that the Hyde Act had a specific condition regarding India’s cooperation with U.S. policy on Iran. The Government had stated that the Hyde Act was not binding on it. The Nuclear Suppliers Group(NSG) waiver, quoted External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s statement of September 5 that India would join international efforts to stop the spread of enrichment and reprocessing technologies, an obvious reference to Iran, the statement said adding that the Presidential determination reiterates it .

“India will now support the United States and international efforts to prevent the spread of enrichment and reprocessing technologies to any State that does not already possess full-scale, functioning enrichment or reprocessing plants,” the statement quotes from the Presidential determination.

Succumbs to pressure

The party said: “Clearly India has succumbed to U.S. pressure to deny Iran the rights it has as a signatory to the NPT. On all these issues it is the Hyde Act which has prevailed. This is precisely what the Left parties have been saying. The Bush determination once more proves that Government of India has consistently misled the people of this country.”

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