He sought to allay fears on account of the Hyde Act, saying it had no reflection in the 123 agreement and the "prescriptive" elements in the US law will never be acceptable to India.
Emphasising the government's commitment to non-proliferation, he said "we still believe nuclear weapons are not to win battles. It is total disruption and destruction of civilisations".
At the same time, he added that civil nuclear initiative with the US would end the country's 30-year-old isolation and help reduce electricity deficit by 1.50 lakh Mw by 2050.
He said unless India gets exemption from Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), even "friends" like Russia and France cannot agree to cooperation in the civil nuclear field.
"NSG and IAEA clearances are like passport and visa. Whether we travel or not, it depends on us. If there is no passport we cannot travel," he said.
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"Please, let us have this passport and visa. Then we will decide if travel and if we travel, what should be the destination," he said in an impassioned speech that won him accolades from Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other colleagues.