Left rejects 123 pact, says it's not what PM promised

Dasmunshi says ready to face voting on the deal, as sought by the BJP.

The four Left parties today termed the 123 Agreement, which will operationalise the Indo-US nuclear deal, "unacceptable," saying it falls short of many promises made by the prime minister in Parliament.

The parties argued that the agreement had the shadow of the Hyde Act looming over it. "The agreement, which binds India into clauses of perpetuity, is of serious concern," said a statement by the Left parties after a meeting at the CPI(M) headquarters. The meeting was attended by Prakash Karat of the CPI(M), AB Bardhan and D Raja of the CPI, Abani Roy of the RSP and G Devrajan of the Forward Block.

The Act, the parties said, would not only lead to stopping of US fuel supplies if India conducted a nuclear test but also force the US to ask other countries to do the same. They said the agreement could not be seen in isolation but as part of the overall Indo-US strategic partnership. The partnership, they said, "Makes India compromise on its independent foreign policy and sovereign rights for developing a self-reliant nuclear programme."

The statement said the UPA government should desist from proceeding on the negotiations for the 123 Agreement till the "inimical" provisions of the Hyde Act were cleared.

Quoting the prime minister's assurance that the deal would cover the entire nuclear fuel cycle, it said, "Although the proposed 123 Agreement 'superficially' says full civilian nuclear co-operation, it denies co-cooperation or access in any form whatsoever to fuel enrichment, reprocessing and heavy water production technologies."

"Even in the new facilities built for reprocessing spent fuel under safeguards, the onerous technological sanctions implied by the dual-use label will apply. This is certainly a major departure from what the prime minister had assured," the parties said.

India accepted safeguards in perpetuity but linkage of such safeguards with perpetual fuel supplies remained unclear, they added.

According to a PTI report, ahead of the Monsoon session beginning Friday, the government has indicated readiness for a discussion on the deal under a rule that entails voting, a demand made by the opposition BJP.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi said the government would abide by whatever decision the presiding officers of both Houses of Parliament took on the nature and form of any discussion. The BJP has given a notice in the Lok Sabha for a discussion on the issue under Rule 184, which entails voting.

Meanwhile, the prime minister is likely to make a statement in Parliament on the 123 Agreement.