PM to allay fears of N-deal critics

NEW DELHI: A few hours before President George Bush signs on the landmark legislation to implement the Indo-US civil nuclear pact on Monday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would intervene in a discussion in the Rajya Sabha to allay the fears of the BJP, the Left parties and a section of nuclear establishment that the deal is detrimental to India’s interests.

Singh would reiterate his position that the government of India would not do anything to deviate from the line he drew on August 17, on the floor of the House, when he had laid out parameters within which the deal would be acceptable to India. Singh would emphasis the point that the deal is still to be negotiated and that only the yet to be signed “123” agreement is binding on New Delhi.

External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee will give a detailed reply to the discussion. Though the BJP wanted the discussion under a rule which entails voting, the government did not favour it. The saffron party’s attempt was to put the Left parties on the mat and even drive a wedge between the UPA and the Left.

The government has been insisting that the deal has not reached its finality and therefore it would be wrong to project any division on the issue in Parliament and the Left agreed with it. CPI(M)’s Lok Sabha leader Basudev Acharya said: “We are not in favour of a discussion under rule 184 (which entails voting), a short duration discussion under 193 (no voting) is sufficient.”

But both the Left and government sources said even if voting took place, the Left would not side with the BJP. Indications are the Left is satisfied that the government is also sharing their concern over some aspects of the US Act.