Indian Leaders See Wider Opposition to Nuclear Deal

Indian leaders faced criticism this week from political friends and foes over the recently completed nuclear trade deal with the United States, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Aug. 6).

“Our party has stated very clearly that the accord contains provisions that cannot be accepted by any country that loves its sovereignty,” said Prakash Karat, chief of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), a member of the ruling coalition in parliament.  A group of communist parties has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to refrain from implementing the deal.

Under the agreement officially announced Friday, India could purchase U.S. nuclear materials and technology in exchange for submitting the nation’s civilian nuclear sector to international oversight.  Legislatures from both nations must approve the deal.

Singh has also drawn fire from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, a nationalist group that ordered nuclear weapon tests in 1998 after the party won control of the government.

BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, once the nation’s foreign minister, said the deal would restrict India’s nuclear weapons program.

“Such a long-term decision should be decided with a consensus,” he said.

While opposition from the right was not unexpected, the criticism from the left could threaten Singh’s government, according to one political analyst.

“A lot of hard work had gone into this and now when it is nearly done, the government’s allies are opposing it,” said analyst Rasheed Kidwai.  A decision by the communist parties to stick to their position “will make it untenable for the government to continue in office,” he added (Elizabeth Roche, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Aug. 7).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.