Chennai, Aug. 7 (PTI): Maintaining that the civil nuclear deal with the United States was against India's sovereignty, AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa today urged the Centre to constitute a committee of MPs, scientists and patriotic citizens to examine the various clauses of the agreement.

The Union Government should take further action on the agreement only after the above committee gave its findings, she said in a statement here.

To protect the sovereignty of India, any agreement with other nations must have the approval of two-thirds of MPs of both the Houses and the Indian Constitution had to be amended accordingly, she stressed.

"But the Union government is functioning with the idea that no debate on this subject should be allowed in Parliament and also that no such debate should ever be permitted even in future."

Jayalalithaa said there were deleterious clauses in the deal working against India's sovereignty particularly those related to the country's research centres, atomic power processing, atomic power plants and the disposal of atomic waste after use.

All those would come under the supervisory control of the US as well as the powers of inspection and gathering of information pertaining to India's nuclear capability, she said

"Thus America has positioned itself as a master issuing the order vis-a-vis the agreement ordering India to 'do this, adopt this method, don't do that' etc," she claimed.

Jayalalithaa said the unpalatable truth of the agreement was that America would not supply to India new methods and technology for production of materials for atomic power but supply only finished products.

There were also clauses enabling the US to intervene with regard to India's future atomic research, raw material research and future production of atomic weaponry, she added.

"A nation can claim to be free and independent only if there is no interference in matters relating to its civilian set up and its military establishment," she said.

The AIADMK said during Jawaharlal Nehru's tenure India's atomic energy research and policy of self-reliance were in their preliminary state and during Indira Gandhi's time, Indian scientists displayed their acumen by setting up atomic power plants in various parts of India.

For India to emerge as a super power in nuclear energy, the Atomic Energy department should be independent in its functioning and also fully self-reliant. This was the clear view held by former Prime Ministers of the country.

"But the present Union Government is bent on burying all these principles fathoms deep and is doing all that is possible against India's sovereignty," she charged.

"The Congress-led UPA Government, which is a conglomeration of 22 parties holding contradictory views and acting according to the dictates of foreign masters, has absolutely no moral right to sign the above nuclear deal," she added.