N-energy crucial for future: Pranab
Speaking for the government during the debate on the trust motion in Lok Sabha, foreign minister Mukherjee put forth the government’s defence of the handling of the nuclear deal impasse.
By ET Bureau |
NEW DELHI: The gloves came off once and for all on Monday as a feisty Pranab Mukherjee took on the Left parties word for word on their opposition to the Indo-US nuclear in Parliament. Speaking for the government during the debate on the trust motion in Lok Sabha, foreign minister Mukherjee put forth the government���s defence of the handling of the nuclear deal impasse.
In a speech that was meant to present the government���s case before Parliament, the foreign minister made his strongest attack on the Left in the aftermath of their alliance with BSP���s Mayawati. He also replied to Leader of Opposition, L K Advani���s, pointed criticism of the UPA���s performance and of the prime minister, bolstering his arguments with numbers to show how nuclear energy would be crucial to meet India���s future energy needs.
However, the thrust of Mr Mukherjee���s argument lay in making out the Left to be as wrong as the BJP in opposing the N-deal. He asked his government���s former supporters not to align themselves with the BJP and tried to absolve the UPA of the Left���s ���betrayal��� charge. ���Is this an issue on which you are bringing down the government,��� he asked the Left. Having been the one to sound a conciliatory note on the Left even a day after it withdrew support to the government, Mr Mukherjee���s statements on Monday showed how wide the chasm between the UPA and Left had grown.
The foreign minister began his speech with an understated but strong rebuttal of CPM leader Mohd Salim���s play on the word deal and dealers to describe the nuclear agreement and those backing it. He said it would not be acceptable to describe it as a deal as it was a ���civil nuclear co-operation agreement between India and the US. He weaved in criticism of Mr Advani���s observations that the government had become a ���minority government��� and stated that with the SP backing the government, it had 276 members in a House of 541, when the Left had withdrawn support.
Noting that in his four decades as a parliamentarian he did not remember any foreign policy issue being discussed ���so extensively��� as the N-deal, Mr Mukherjee refuted the Left���s accusation that the government had tried to ���hide��� anything. Talking of the seven debates that had taken place on the deal, especially the one after the Hyde Act was passed in the US, Mr Mukherjee said the legislation did have ���prescriptive provisions��� but they were ���unacceptable��� and India would ���never compromise��� her ���independent foreign policy���. He challenged members of Parliament to point out any instance where the nuclear deal document mentioned the Hyde Act.
On the UPA-Left committee on the nuclear deal, he said it had been formed specifically to address the Left���s concerns on the Hyde Act and on whether the nuclear co-operation agreement would impinge on India���s independent foreign policy. He said the government would have been able to meet the Left���s concerns on uninterrupted fuel supplies; the separation plan; and on procuring remedies from the IAEA in case of disruption of fuel supplies.
He insisted that text of the safeguards agreement could not be given to the Left as it was ���restricted��� document but it was made public when it was ready for circulation within the IAEA. Saying there was ���no question of betrayal��� he said it was due to difference in time zones that text became public after the Left���s withdrawal of support. He hit out at the Left for planning to vote against the government along side the BJP saying: ���Please don���t identify with these forces. They are companions who are not desirable���.
Speaking of the need for nuclear energy he said the energy deficit in the country was expected to touch 150,000 megawatt by 2030 and 412,000 megawatt by 2050. ���We have no other choice (but nuclear energy),��� he said.
In a speech that was meant to present the government���s case before Parliament, the foreign minister made his strongest attack on the Left in the aftermath of their alliance with BSP���s Mayawati. He also replied to Leader of Opposition, L K Advani���s, pointed criticism of the UPA���s performance and of the prime minister, bolstering his arguments with numbers to show how nuclear energy would be crucial to meet India���s future energy needs.
However, the thrust of Mr Mukherjee���s argument lay in making out the Left to be as wrong as the BJP in opposing the N-deal. He asked his government���s former supporters not to align themselves with the BJP and tried to absolve the UPA of the Left���s ���betrayal��� charge. ���Is this an issue on which you are bringing down the government,��� he asked the Left. Having been the one to sound a conciliatory note on the Left even a day after it withdrew support to the government, Mr Mukherjee���s statements on Monday showed how wide the chasm between the UPA and Left had grown.
The foreign minister began his speech with an understated but strong rebuttal of CPM leader Mohd Salim���s play on the word deal and dealers to describe the nuclear agreement and those backing it. He said it would not be acceptable to describe it as a deal as it was a ���civil nuclear co-operation agreement between India and the US. He weaved in criticism of Mr Advani���s observations that the government had become a ���minority government��� and stated that with the SP backing the government, it had 276 members in a House of 541, when the Left had withdrawn support.
Noting that in his four decades as a parliamentarian he did not remember any foreign policy issue being discussed ���so extensively��� as the N-deal, Mr Mukherjee refuted the Left���s accusation that the government had tried to ���hide��� anything. Talking of the seven debates that had taken place on the deal, especially the one after the Hyde Act was passed in the US, Mr Mukherjee said the legislation did have ���prescriptive provisions��� but they were ���unacceptable��� and India would ���never compromise��� her ���independent foreign policy���. He challenged members of Parliament to point out any instance where the nuclear deal document mentioned the Hyde Act.
On the UPA-Left committee on the nuclear deal, he said it had been formed specifically to address the Left���s concerns on the Hyde Act and on whether the nuclear co-operation agreement would impinge on India���s independent foreign policy. He said the government would have been able to meet the Left���s concerns on uninterrupted fuel supplies; the separation plan; and on procuring remedies from the IAEA in case of disruption of fuel supplies.
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He insisted that text of the safeguards agreement could not be given to the Left as it was ���restricted��� document but it was made public when it was ready for circulation within the IAEA. Saying there was ���no question of betrayal��� he said it was due to difference in time zones that text became public after the Left���s withdrawal of support. He hit out at the Left for planning to vote against the government along side the BJP saying: ���Please don���t identify with these forces. They are companions who are not desirable���.
Speaking of the need for nuclear energy he said the energy deficit in the country was expected to touch 150,000 megawatt by 2030 and 412,000 megawatt by 2050. ���We have no other choice (but nuclear energy),��� he said.
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