| All concerns addressed in draft nuke deal: Govt |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi July 25, 2007 |
| Details of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal were shared with and approved by the cabinet today, and the government said all concerns of India had been "adequately addressed". A joint meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) and Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today. "All concerns of India have been reflected and adequately addressed in the agreement," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters after an hour-long meeting held at the residence of the Prime Minister. Besides Mukherjee, the meeting was attended, among others, by Defence Minister A K Antony, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and Surface Transport Minsiter T R Baalu. India's concerns during the tough negotiations in Washington led by National Security Adviser M K Narayanan related to the right to test nuclear weapons, guarantees of life-time fuel supply and the right to reprocess spent fuel. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Leader of Opposition L K Advani and Jaswant Singh will be taken into confidence on the salient features of the agreement. As part of the consultations, he will meet CPI(M) leaders tomorrow, Mukherjee said adding that the government will make a statement on the agreement on the first working day of the Parliament. The monsoon session will begin on August 10. The minister said that Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar will hold a joint press meet soon. "We will be able to discuss the issue with other political parties before the Parliament session," Mukherjee said. Experts said a long haul awaits the deal: the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the International Atomic Energy Agency will have to be convinced of India |
