Draft Bill undermines India’s interests, says CPM

NEW DELHI: The CPI(M) said on Wednesday it had serious reservations on the US and India Nuclear Cooperation Promotion Act 2006 draft Bill presented before the US House International Relations Committee. In a politburo statement the party listed several points of concern and promised a ‘‘more substantive response’’ later. It called upon the UPA government ‘‘to uphold India’s sovereignty in all these matters and not deviate from its stated foreign policy commitments and positions under US pressure.’’ ‘‘The bill says the presidential waver will cease to be effective if India conducts a nuclear test. India’s unilateral moratorium on conducting nuclear tests cannot be subservient to such US conditionalities. India’s sovereignty on these matters cannot be compromised,’’ the statement said. The party is also irked about the clause that binds India to US moves against Iran. The party said the bill was forcing to comply with the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT), which India had in the past refused to sign on the grounds of it being discriminatory.

‘‘We applaud the passage of the Indian civilian nuclear cooperation legislation out of the House International Committee. The vote of 37 to 5 in favour shows a strong bipartisan support for the initiative negotiated during the President’s historic visit underscoring the new relationship with India. We look forward to House passage soon.’’
— A State Department official.

‘‘The vote reflects the robust bipartisan support for a deeper strategic partnership with India, a view which has been championed by the US industry, and which we find encouraging.
— Ron Somers, president, US-India Business Council