We stand vindicated, says CPM on Berman ‘revelations’

The disclosures that the US will not sell sensitive nuclear technologies to India and would immediately terminate civil nuclear trade if New Delhi conducted an atomic test, provided much-needed ammunition to the major Left party whose campaign against the Government on the nuclear deal issue has been losing steam, especially since the joint campaign with UNPA parties, BSP and the JD(S) has not taken off.

“The Left Parties had warned the UPA Government about these provisions in the notes submitted to the UPA-Left Coordination Committee, which have now been vindicated by this disclosure. Each of the commitments made by the Prime Minister in Parliament have been violated,” the CPI(M) said.

It said the correspondence revealed that the US has given no binding fuel-supply assurance to India, there is no US consent to India’s stockpiling of lifetime fuel reserves for safeguarded power reactors, civil nuclear cooperation is explicitly conditioned to India not testing ever again and the US has retained the right to suspend or terminate supplies at its own discretion.

Further, the letters makes it clear that the US Government will not assist India in the design, construction or operation of sensitive nuclear technologies — including enrichment and reprocessing — and the 123 Agreement has granted India no right to take corrective measures in case of any fuel-supply disruption and it fully conforms to the Hyde Act provisions, the party said.

The correspondence made public by Berman reveals the answers provided by the Bush administration to the clarifications sought on various aspects of the 123 agreement by US congressmen.

Claiming that the answers provided by the Bush administration was kept secret so far because it would have completely exposed the false claims made by the Government regarding the terms of the nuclear deal, the CPI(M) demanded suspension of all further moves to operationalise the “anti-national” nuclear deal.