Friday, 17 August, 2007

The Economic Times

Even as the Opposition and the Left on Thursday forced a shutdown of Parliament over US state department’s assertion that the deal would be declared dead if India tested a nuclear device, the government moved swiftly to clarify that New Delhi had not given up its sovereign right to test.

Pranab Mukherjee, who is currently engaging Left leaders in a negotiation, told the Lok Sabha that his arguments are based on the text of the 123 Agreement. “Nowhere in the bilateral agreement on co-operation for peaceful uses of nuclear energy with the US is testing mentioned,” Mr Mukherjee said.

The Opposition and the Left hit back at the government and harped on the charge that the government was
misleading Parliament as the 123 Agreement cannot be seen in isolation. They said since 123 Agreement clearly states that both countries would work within their respective domestic laws, the US laws such as the Hyde Act will take precedence.

Mr Mukherjee, during an interaction with reporters here, made it clear that India was not bound by the Hyde Act. The Act was unacceptable as it contained certain “extraneous and prescriptive” provisions. “Whatever is stated in the Hyde Act is not binding on us. How they (US) deal with it is their problem,” he clarified.

The non-proliferation lobby in the US, which is opposing the deal, is expected to base their arguments on making the 123 Agreement compatible with the Hyde Act and other laws of the US. But Mr Mukherjee maintained that India has the sovereign right to test and would do so if it is necessary in the national interest.

This is not the only provision in the Hyde Act that is agitating those opposing the deal here. Section 103 of the Act contains provisions of India’s co-operation in containing Iran’s nuclear programme and New Delhi halting fissile material production. It also states that the US would oppose development of a capability to produce nuclear weapons by any non-nuclear weapon state within or outside the NPT regime.

When told that the Left parties are insisting that the 123 Agreement needed to be read in conjunction with the Hyde Act and other US laws, Mr Mukherjee merely said: “They have the right to articulate their viewpoint.”