Hyde Act panel sets ground rules, to meet on 19th

At the first meeting of UPA-Left committee on the Indo-US nuclear deal today, the UPA government and its Left allies set ground rules for further talks.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said after the 45-minute meeting that the committee would discuss the "implications of the Hyde Act on the Indo-US 123 Agreement and on self-reliance in the nuclear sector and implications on foreign policy and security cooperation."

The next meeting is scheduled on September 19, after Mukherjee returns from his tour of South-East Asia.

In today's meeting, an agenda paper distributed by Mukherjee outlined the concerns expressed by the Left. Mukherjee then asked the Left leaders if they wished to add anything. The Left leaders, sources said, were satisfied with the agenda.

According to insiders, the agenda paper states that the "123 Agreement will be examined in light of prime minister's assurance given to Parliament last year." The group will also study the "implications of the Hyde Act on the 123 Agreement and jurisdiction of national laws," according to the paper.

The Left parties indicated they would review the 123 Agreement in the context of the Indo-US cooperation during the last few years. The would also examine the issue of US president's annual certification and whether the deal ensured full nuclear cooperation. Before the next meeting, the two sides would exchange notes on some of these issues, said sources.

Although the government was eager to have another meeting before Mukherjee leaves for Indonesia on September 13, the Left leaders rejected the suggestion. It was then decided that the third meeting of the committee would be held before the festival season starts, most probably on October 4.

Sources said the Left parties would pressure the government to renegotiate the deal. The Left leaders made it clear that the agreement in its current form was "totally unacceptable."

They cite the 123 agreements the US has signed with China and Japan. While the agreement with China is subject to only the international laws, Japan has the freedom to go into arbitration.

"These agreements are not subject to US national laws. We want the government to do an agreement like that," said a top Left Leader.