India says no compromise on US nuclear deal

India needs energy to fuel its booming economy.
by Staff Writers
New Delhi (AFP) Jul 26, 2006
India said on Wednesday it would make no compromises on a landmark deal with the United States to get civil nuclear technology amid criticism that the pact could endanger national security.
"We will never compromise in a manner which is inconsistent with the provisions of the joint statement" signed with the United States in July 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told parliament.

Earlier, India's junior foreign affairs minister Anand Sharma told parliament that India would accept "no fresh obligations" or "new conditions" to win approval of the deal from the US Congress.

The government's assurances came amid recent Indian news reports that Washington was planning to impose new conditions on the deal that would include an annual review of India's nuclear policies by US lawmakers.

India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has said it fears the agreement would make the country "perpetually dependent" on the United States for all initiatives in the application of nuclear energy.

The government's communist allies have also expressed concern, saying they fear it could bind India to supporting US foreign policy and jeopardise the country's security interests.

The US House of Representatives was poised Wednesday to take up the agreement, which supporters say will form the cornerstone of a closely-knit partnership between the two powers.

Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress have expressed strong support for the bill, under which the United States will aid the development of civil nuclear power in India in return for New Delhi placing its civil nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency inspections.

The agreement stipulates that India's nuclear weapons sites would remain off-limits for inspection.

Indian and US supporters of the agreement have praised it as a sign of a geopolitical re-alliance following the Cold War, one which would allow India to jump-start its quest for alternate energy sources as its economy booms.

But some US lawmakers have expressed doubts about extending civil nuclear technology to India, which is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. [link to www.terradaily.com]