Opposition slams UPA govt over the issue of nuclear liability act

NEW DELHI: The opposition parties have slammed the government for its reported attempts to dilute the Civil Nuclear Liability Act ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s US visit. BJP President Rajnath Singh alleged the UPA government was trying to exempt US suppliers of reactors from the liability clause and sought the prime minister’s clarification on the issue. “It is unfortunate that even Atomic Energy Commission is being bypassed. The incident of Japan is known to all,” he said in Guwahati.

In the Capital, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said: “Our concern is that Dr Manmohan Singh has nothing to show as an achievement over the last nine-and-a-half years. When the time of his departure has come, he is rushing into tokenism on the eve of his US visit.” In quest of tokenism, the prime minister should not bypass well-settled institutional mechanism and protocol, he said. The CPM said the UPA government was succumbing to the US pressure.

“The opinion given by the Attorney General is an interpretation of the law which does not hold. Even if under Section 17(a) of the Act, there is no right to recourse written into the contract, 17(b) provides for the right to recourse if the accident is caused by faulty material or equipment provided by the supplier. Hence, irrespective of the written contract, the right to recourse and the liability of the supplier will apply if there is supply of faulty material or equipment,” a statement issued by the party polit bureau said. CPI’s Gurudas Dasgupta said “there can’t be a political decision on a highly technical issue such as this. The future of nation can be in jeopardy.”