Bush plays Dr Jekyll, says Hyde’s advisory

NEW DELHI: In a development that will help Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deal with domestic pressure against the nuclear deal, President George W Bush has indicated that he was not in agreement with the Hyde Act’s formulations on getting India’s backing for containing nuclear Iran, prohibiting the US president from transferring a nuclear item contrary to Nuclear Suppliers Group guidelines and the proposal to set up joint scientific coopeartive non-proliferation programme.

The statement from the White House may not have come at a more opportune time for the Centre as the Opposition has been claiming that the deal will cap India’s nuclear programme and affect its independent foreign policy.

Mr Bush said that he did not agree with all the provisions in the Act and in particular, referred to the three provisions in the statement of policy section and said that the administration would take them as advisory.

Referring specifically to Section 103 — the Iran provision in the act — he said, “my approval of the Act does not constitute my adoption of the statements of policy as US foreign policy. Given the Constitution’s commitment to the presidency of the authority to conduct the Nation’s foreign affairs, the executive branch shall construe such policy statements as advisory.” This presidential statement was released after he signed the Henry J Hyde US-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act bill into a law.

The government here had called the Iran provision, along with the others, extraneous and prescriptive provisions. This was also cited by the opposition to drive home its political point that there would be foreign policy interventions from the US if the deal is accepted by New Delhi.

President Bush also questioned the Consitutional viability of Section 104(d)(2) of the act, which says the US would work with Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) members to further restrict transfers of equipment and technologies related to uranium enrichment, reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and production of heavy water to all countries, including India.

The provision further says that no item subject to transfer guidelines of NSG may be transfered to India if such transfer would be inconsistent with the guidelines.

Mr Bush pointed out that this provision was close to being unconstitutional as it would delegate legislative power on nuclear transfers to the Nuclear Suppliers Group. “Section 104(d)(2) of the act was construed to prohibit the executive branch from transferring or approving the transfer of an item to India contrary to Nuclear Suppliers Group transfer guidelines that may be in effect at the time of such future transfer, a serious question would exist as to whether the provision unconstitutionally delegated legislative power to an international body,’’ he said.

The president further said that in order to avoid this constitutional question, the executive branch shall construe section 104 as advisory.

He also expressed reservation about Section 109 that authorises the secretary of energy to set up a cooperative nuclear non-proliferation programme with American and India scientists to further nuclear non-proliferation goals, including scientific research and development efforts, with an emphasis on nuclear safeguards.

He further added that all these provisions would be interpreted according to the president’s constitutional authority to protect and control information that could impair foreign relations, national security, the deliberative processes of the Executive or the performance of the Executive’s constitutional duties.