CPI today asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to explain why the government "rushed" into an agreement with the US on the nuclear liability issue, saying a proposed insurance pool to cover American nuclear firms would violate Indian law on the issue.
"If media reports on this issue are correct, and the Government has agreed to form an insurance pool backed by public sector Indian companies to indemnify American suppliers, then this would violate both the letter and the spirit of the 2010 (nuclear liability) law," party's National Secretary D Raja said.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, he said US suppliers "should obtain insurance from international insurance companies at commercial rates. Why are they unable to do so? Is this because they are unable to persuade their own companies that their reactors are as safe as they claim?
"Why should the Indian people have to provide insurance to American companies through an Indian public sector company," he asked.
Expressing concern over reports that Modi government has agreed to US demands that its companies be protected from liability for accidents caused by design defects in reactors they supply, Raja said the intent of the Indian law was "clearly to place some liability on the supplier. This was meant to ensure that multinational suppliers would pay adequate attention to safety standards."
Observing that design defects have contributed to nuclear accidents including those at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima, he said US firm GE had "designed the Mark 1 reactors that were involved in the Fukushima accident."
"Why is the Indian agreement rushing into a deal to purchase a reactor that is running into difficulties elsewhere," Raja asked.
"Your negotiations with President Obama have been opaque, and very few details are publicly available. ... I hope that you will take urgent steps to address and answer them publicly," he said.
