“Section 103 of the Act purports to establish US policy with respect to various international affairs matters. My approval does not constitute my adoption of the statements of policy as US foreign policy,” said Bush in his official statement on Henry Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006 which he signed into law on Monday.

Referring to US Constitution’s authority on the President to frame and conduct foreign policy, he was clear that his Administration will treat such policy statements as “advisory”.

It is this section to which there has been maximum domestic opposition from the Left, BJP and retired nuclear scientists. Bush’s stand, sources said, endorses the government’s position that nothing beyond the July 18 joint statement and the March 2 Separation Plan will be part of the final agreement between the two countries.

The other issue on which doubts have been raised on grounds of allowing intrusive access to Indian nuclear facilities was Section 109 of the Act. This calls for setting up of a Indo-US scientific cooperative nuclear non-proliferation programme. It was earlier called the Cooperative Threat Reduction Programme in the Senate Bill, but later re-named it after Indian concerns were pointed out by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during the reconciliation process.

Bush has made it clear that his Administration will execute this provision and the various other reporting requirements in the backdrop of the US President’s authority to “protect and control information that could impair foreign relations”. This essentially breaks the linkages being drawn by retired scientists here between this provision and the Cooperative Threat Reduction Programme followed with breakaway republics of the erstwhile USSR.

Besides this, Bush has taken serious exception to a prescription in the main portion of the Act which asks US government to ensure that whatever items it sells to India must be congruent to list of items being made available by the Nuclear Suppliers Group. This provision essentially requires the US Administration to make changes in its list of items to India whenever the NSG makes such amendments in the future.

According to Bush, this has raised a Constitutional question on whether the US legislature has “unconstitutional delegated legislative power to an international body”. To avoid this contest with the legislature, he said his Administration will treat this provision also as “advisory”.