07-21-2008, 05:30 PM
<b>N-deal a passport for ties with the world: Mukherjee</b>
New Delhi (PTI): The government on Monday said it will seek the consent of the Parliament before operationalising the Indo-US nuclear deal which it described as a "passport" for cooperation with the international community.
Making a strong defence of the nuclear deal during the debate on confidence motion, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee rejected the Left parties' allegations of betrayal and took pot-shots at Leader of Opposition L K Advani, saying he should not "distort" facts in "over enthusiasm" to score political points.
He sought to allay fears on account of the Hyde Act, saying it had no reflection in the 123 agreement and the "prescriptive" elements in the US law will never be acceptable to India.
Emphasising the government's commitment to non-proliferation, he said "we still believe nuclear weapons are not to win battles. It is total disruption and destruction of civilisations".
At the same time, he added that civil nuclear initiative with the US would end the country's 30-year-old isolation and help reduce electricity deficit by 1.50 lakh MW by 2050.
He said unless India gets exemption from Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), even "friends" like Russia and France cannot agree to cooperation in the civil nuclear field.
"NSG and IAEA clearances are like passport and visa. Whether we travel or not, it depends on us. If there is no passport we cannot travel," he said.
"Please, let us have this passport and visa. Then we will decide if travel and if we travel, what should be the destination," he said in an impassioned speech that won him accolades from Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other colleagues.
New Delhi (PTI): The government on Monday said it will seek the consent of the Parliament before operationalising the Indo-US nuclear deal which it described as a "passport" for cooperation with the international community.
Making a strong defence of the nuclear deal during the debate on confidence motion, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee rejected the Left parties' allegations of betrayal and took pot-shots at Leader of Opposition L K Advani, saying he should not "distort" facts in "over enthusiasm" to score political points.
He sought to allay fears on account of the Hyde Act, saying it had no reflection in the 123 agreement and the "prescriptive" elements in the US law will never be acceptable to India.
Emphasising the government's commitment to non-proliferation, he said "we still believe nuclear weapons are not to win battles. It is total disruption and destruction of civilisations".
At the same time, he added that civil nuclear initiative with the US would end the country's 30-year-old isolation and help reduce electricity deficit by 1.50 lakh MW by 2050.
He said unless India gets exemption from Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), even "friends" like Russia and France cannot agree to cooperation in the civil nuclear field.
"NSG and IAEA clearances are like passport and visa. Whether we travel or not, it depends on us. If there is no passport we cannot travel," he said.
"Please, let us have this passport and visa. Then we will decide if travel and if we travel, what should be the destination," he said in an impassioned speech that won him accolades from Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other colleagues.