Barack Obama's India visit: Congress cautions government on nuclear deal

NEW DELHI: Ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit, Congress today cautioned the government against any "understanding" on operationalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal bypassing the Indian legal framework, Parliament and national consensus on the issue.

"A solution for operationalisation of the agreement has to be within the four corners of the Indian legal framework and the Act of Parliament.

"There cannot be any understanding bypassing the legal framework, Parliament and the national consensus on the issue", party spokesman Anand Sharma told reporters here.

He alleged that the government has not taken Congress or any other opposition party into confidence even as there have been four meetings of the Nuclear Contact Group in Geneva and London since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Obama in the US in September.

Sharma said, "This government should not act in a manner which is opaque and which raises doubts and misgivings."

Welcoming the "course correction" done by BJP on the deal, he recalled that the party when in opposition had stoutly opposed the issue and even attempted to bring down the UPA-I government on the matter in July 2008.

He said the Manmohan Singh government had gone ahead with the deal to deepen the strategic engagement with the US, resulting in India being accepted into the nuclear mainstream with doors opened for New Delhi of the NSG and IAEA.

Sharma also noted that the changes in the Nuclear Liability Law were brought about by the last government following several proposals from the opposition then led by Arun Jaitley, who is now the Finance Minister.

Under the deal, nuclear commerce worth billions of dollars was meant to be the centrepiece of a new strategic relationship between the US and India, allowing New Delhi access to nuclear technology and fuel without giving up its weapons programme.

Congress, Sharma said, welcomed the visit of the US President, which would take forward the partnership between the two countries in several fields.

Taking a dig at BJP, he said that the Prime Minister should take the opportunity of the US President's visit to allow FDI in multi-brand retail and "admit the mistake" of opposing the move and rectify its position.

A Congress delegation led by party chief Sonia Gandhi and comprising, among others, party Vice President Rahul Gandhi will be calling on the US President on the afternoon of January 26.