Date:07/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/07/stories/2008090754000800.htm

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Conditions of Hyde Act remain: Karat

Special Correspondent

One has to wait for the full text of waiver to know its ramifications for India: CPI

Prakash Karat

NEW DELHI: The Left parties on Saturday conveyed their disagreement with the decision of the waiver by the Nuclear Suppliers Group to India with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) stating it is “neither clean nor unconditional” while the CPI described it as a “black day.”

In his brief statement, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said the NSG waiver could not be claimed to be clean since the conditionalities of the Henry J Hyde Act remained.

He said the extent to which the conditions formed part of the waiver would be known only once its text was made available.

“It is surrender towards operationalising the nuclear deal [with the United States of America],” he said.

“Premature”

The Communist Party of India did not agree with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s declaration that the waiver was a “historic decision.” It was not only premature but a deliberate attempt to hide the adverse amendments incorporated in the final draft.

“One has to wait for the full text of the waiver to understand all its ramifications for India,” the party Central Secretariat said in a statement. It is quite clear that the suo motu statement by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday had been accepted by the NSG as a commitment by India to surrender its right for future research and development.

Besides, it seems that India has given up its claim on transferring the dual use technology and cited the Bush administration’s letter to the U.S. Congress that Washington would never allow transfer of sensitive technology for reprocessing and enrichment to India.

“A black day”

“If that has been accepted for NSG waiver, then it is not a historic day but a ‘black day’ for India as far as our nuclear programme is concerned. This waiver will kill our efforts to develop the nuclear technology based on thorium,” the statement said.

The party reiterated that the government should not proceed with operationalising the 123 agreement till all ramifications of the NSG waiver became clear.