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US House passes Indo-US nuke deal

     Washington: The US House of Representatives passed the July 18, 2005 India-US civilian nuclear deal by a majority vote of 359 to 68. The deal though will take effect only when the Senate also passes it later this year. The Bill will change the existing American laws in order to give India greater access to sensitive US technology. The deal was passed after a three-hour debate in the House. The last minute "killer" amendments or potential deal-breakers that attached conditions to the deal were taken up during the debate, but defeated. The draft bill was earlier approved with an overwhelming 37-5 in the House International Relations Committee on June 26.

Opposition walks out over nuclear deal (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: The opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) today staged a walk out from the Rajya Sabha following an uproar over passing of the Indo-US nuclear deal in US House of Representatives by a majority vote. The NDA protest followed Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's reply during Question Hour in which he said that he was not in a position to say exactly what the eventual bill or deal would "look like" when it is placed before the US Senate and the full Congress. Dr. Singh also said that India has the option not to accept the bill if it compromised with the July 18 agreement.in any way. "I cannot influence US legislation. The US administration must persuade Congress on India's concerns, Singh said adding, "Whether the US legislative process leads to a final product that is not acceptable to us would be the determining factor...we must have the patience." The opposition was not satisfied with the Prime Minister's answer and choose to walk out of the House. "The bill passed by the US House of Representatives contains all conditions that America wanted to impose despite the PM's frequent assurance," Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha said.

    On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed the July 18, 2005 India-US civilian nuclear deal by a majority vote of 359 to 68 soon after Manmohan Singh told the Lok Sabha that India would make no compromises on the provisions of the Indo-US joint statement. Intervening during Question Hour, the Prime Minister said on Wednesday that he was prepared to make a suo-motu statement on the issue for a debate. He said he had on more than one occasion shared the government's view in Parliament and made it clear that New Delhi will not compromise and that everything will be transparent. The deal though will take effect only when the Senate also passes a similar legislation later this year. The bill will change existing American laws in order to give India greater access to sensitive U.S. technology. The deal was passed after a three-hour debate in the House. The last minute "killer" amendments or potential deal-breakers that attached conditions to the deal were taken up during the debate, but defeated. The draft bill was earlier approved with an overwhelming 37-5 in the House International Relations Committee on June 26.

No euphoria over nuclear Bill passage  (Go To Top)
by Sudhakar Jagdish

       New Delhi: With the political community divided, the reaction among the strategic experts is restrained rather than euphoric after the US House of Representatives passed the nuclear bill that would ratify the July 18 Statement agreed between India and US on civil nuclear energy cooperation. As the real text of the draft bill that was passed by the US House by 359-68 vote is still to be made available here, a lot of cautious signal is being emanated both from strategists and opinion makers as well as the politicians from the opposition benches in the Parliament. As of now, the experts do not know how much the final text of the Bill defers from the original pact signed by Dr. Singh during his visit to Washington.

    Noted strategic affairs analyst Commodore Uday Bhaskar termed the voting as a "significant" one and added that the "overwhelming support that the bill received and a complete rejection of the deal killing amendments clearly indicate broad political support that the bill has received in US".

   The political groups here having little realisation about the hard work and the effort of the Indian community that has gone in making the deal pass through the US House of Representative, are towing their own lines. While, the voting in the US House cut across the party lines with some Democrats; critical of the deal, also voting in favour, the mood in Indian Parliament today was not a one that would bring cheers to the deal votaries. Political parties are reluctant to give Dr. Manmohan Singh the credit to get the nuclear deal from the U.S., as the bill now remains to clear its last hurdle. The Bill is still to be cleared by the full Senate.

    In India, the opposition BJP said that the time has come to draw the "Lakshman Rekha" (a limiting line) in response to the day-to- day amendments that are added by the Senators to the nuclear bill in US. The political overtones to the Indo-U.S. agreement are clear from the statement made by Yashwant Sinha, former External Affairs Minister during the NDA regime. He said: "There are a number of humiliating conditions that have been set up in the bill that no sovereign nation would accept," but he has not yet come as which are the "humiliating conditions". However, Left Parties are demanding that the Bill should be debated by the Parliament, "which would reflect India's concerns". CPI (M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat said: "We are on the side of the Prime Minister in the House, but a sense of House would only strengthen the hands of Prime Minister. Bharat Karnad, a Research Professor of National Security Studies at the Centre for Policy Research, told ANI TV that "It (Sense of Parliament) will do something that would hamper some of the conditions that are dangerous to the July 18 Statement". Karnad, who has been critical of the deal from day one, said that the House of Representatives passing the bill was not at all a significant one, as the real hurdle would be the bill getting passed by the Senate. "Most difficult is Senate. It is very unlikely that US Senator Richard Lugar if he continues with its position that India must be prepared to accept the constructive changes, than it is highly unlikely that the Senate would be compromising at all", Karnad said. Meanwhile, the reaction in the US is euphoric with Congressmen and Indian lobby groups praising the House for having given a complete support to the bill. Congressman Tom Lantos and Joseph Crowley termed the day as a 'historic' one for it would lay the foundations of a "closer and stronger ties with India for decades". Calling it as "a definitive moment that would bring an end to the Cold War paradigm governing the interactions between New Delhi and Washington", Lantos hailed the efforts to realise the nuclear deal.

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