March 7, 2006
Press Statement
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
has issued the following statement:
The Indo-US Nuclear Deal
The Indo-US Nuclear Deal signed during the recent visit
of US President George W. Bush to India is clearly part
of a wider strategic partnership into which the US seeks
to drag India. The CPI(M) has already noted that the present
Government has regrettably allowed itself to be pushed into
a slew of agreements in the areas of defence, agricultural
research, science and technology, and infrastructure development
which seriously damage India's interests and compromise
Indian sovereignty. While the CPI(M) views the nuclear deal
within this context, it is also important to take note of
the specifics of the deal itself.
In the run up to the Bush visit, the Party had demanded
that the separation of civilian and military facilities
be phased, voluntary and according to Indian wishes guided
by its long-term national interests, that placement of future
nuclear facilities under either category be determined by
India alone and that Fast Breeders be kept out of safeguards.
The Party notes that, due to the strong campaign on these
issues by the Left and sections of the scientific community
resisting huge US pressure and attempts to shift the goalposts,
the Deal has conformed to these positions. It must also
be ensured that India's future energy programme does not
become dependent on imported nuclear reactors and imported
fuel and must take into account the techno-economics of
nuclear energy to determine its quantum in India's energy
basket.
There are still many hurdles to cross even as far as the
nuclear deal itself is concerned, and numerous efforts will
be made by the US to extract further concessions from India
on the nuclear issue as well as on foreign policy matters.
The CPI(M) demands that the UPA Government should ensure
the following and guarantee the same to the Indian people:
a.. India's compliance with the terms of the Nuclear Deal
should be fully reciprocal with US compliance, especially
no steps on implementing the Deal should be taken by India
till the Deal is approved by the US Congress and necessary
changes are brought about within the Nuclear Suppliers Group
to ensure uninterrupted and unconditional supply of nuclear
fuel and nuclear technologies/materials to India
a.. The UPA government should not accept any further conditionalities
or shifting of goalposts by the US, particularly on specious
US pleas of "facilitating" the above endorsements
by the US Congress
b.. The India-specific safeguards and Additional Protocol
agreement with IAEA should be negotiated ensuring adequate
limitations on the inspection access of sites and data,
as well as protection of our intellectual property, so that
the inspection process does not become an exercise of intrusive
evaluation of our indigenous nuclear development programme.
c.. India must reject the US offer to join their Global
Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) as a 'client state' under
which, going by the statement of President Bush on February
22, 2006, US and other nations such as Great Britain, France,
Japan, and Russia would merely "share nuclear fuel"
with India. India has an advanced nuclear energy program
and the Government must ensure India's right to develop
and reprocess all nuclear fuels.
d.. There should be no change in India's nuclear fuel policy
or our three-phase nuclear energy program going upto Breeders
and then the thorium cycle.
e.. all efforts must be made to fully utilize India's indigenous
capability and there should be no large-scale import of
nuclear reactors and
f.. India should not be "boxed-in" to a nuclear
energy route for our future energy programme without a detailed
examination of the techno-economics of nuclear energy
The CPI(M) warns the UPA government that, in pursuit of
the Deal, it should not accept external conditions such
as on the Iran nuclear issue, the gas pipeline, or purchases
of US military equipment etc. The Government should also
renew its commitment towards universal nuclear disarmament
as traditionally held by India and enshrined in the New
Delhi Declaration, and should initiate measures to convene
an International Convention towards this end.
end
