Indian Opposition Party Rejects U.S. Nuclear Deal

India’s main political opposition party yesterday rejected a proposal to ally with the Singh administration to push a stalled nuclear trade agreement with the United States through the Indian parliament, the Indo-Asian News Service reported (see GSN, Nov. 2).

U.S. envoys and senior members of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s administration held a series of talks recently with representatives of the Bharatiya Janata Party in hopes of bringing them into the fold on the deal.

The agreement would give New Delhi access to U.S. nuclear materials and technology in exchange for opening its civilian nuclear facilities to international monitoring.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has supported Indian efforts to improve ties with the United States, and its rejection of the nuclear agreement lessened the chances for success in parliament, the Indo-Asian News Service said. 

In a statement issued after a meeting of senior leaders yesterday, the party said that India’s government had committed a “strategic blunder” by making the nuclear deal “an icon of India’s relations with the U.S.”  Critics at both ends of the political spectrum said the agreement would give the United States unacceptable influence over Indian foreign policy.

“We stand opposed to the deal because in our view it compromises long-term strategic programs of India, vital for [the] country's security.  Neither will it help meet our energy needs of the future,” according to a BJP statement.

“Therefore, the BJP strongly recommends that this deal must be renegotiated and not hustled through as the [United Progressive Alliance] government is attempting to,” the statement said.

Sources said the party has also emphasized “periodic testing of our nuclear arsenal to make sure how our delivery system is functioning.”

Debate over the deal is likely to continue when the parliament begins its winter session Nov. 15 (Indo-Asian News Service/Monsters and Critics, Nov. 7).

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