Sibal adds another twist to N-story
Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal says Nuke committee findings are not binding on the government.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: The government, which constituted a UPA-Left panel to examine the implications of the Indo-US nuclear deal on Tuesday night, is already sending out signals as to how important the panel is in its scheme of things.
Consider this. Union minister for science and technology and a member of the panel, Kapil Sibal, has said the Centre is not bound by the views of the panel.
Mr Sibal also ruled out the possibility of revisiting the 123 pact. The minister said the government had merely said that it would take into account the concerns raised by the Left parties. “Taking into account their concerns never means you are bound by it,” he clarified.
“We will talk about them (concerns of Left parties). We will try and deal with those concerns, and when we come to a final decision, which we have to, we will take them into account,” he said. Mr Sibal claimed that the Left parties had never said that the government was bound to accept their concerns on the deal.
That the government is determined to complete the work of the panel expeditiously was clear when the minister said the task could be completed within a month. The minister’s assertion confirms the widely-held impression that the failure to put in motion the nuke talks at least by October will jeopardise the plans to ensure the deal ratification by the US Congress before it goes into recess by February-end.
The strategic community has been maintaining that the negotiations, particularly with the IAEA and the NSG countries, will be as complicated as working out the 123 Agreement with the US. As the NSG could apply conditions on India, the government would need time to complete the two remaining hurdles.
The government’s original plan was to give the nod to Atomic Energy Agency chairman Anil Kakodkar to start formal negotiations with IAEA officials at the IAEA general body meeting that starts on September 15 on the safeguards agreement.
But that is now out of the question as the government has given a commitment to the Left that it will not go ahead with the discussions till the UPA-Left panel finalises its report. Mr Sibal’s statement that the government is not bound by the views of the UPA-Left panel is certain to rankle the Communists further.
Besides, it will also reinforce the impression that the panel is only a device to buy time for kicking off preparations for early polls.
The UPA-Left committee is expected to hold its first meeting after September 9. This was stated by senior CPM leader Sitaram Yechury after his discussions here with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who also heads the committee.
The composition of the 15-member committee was announced on Tuesday, a week after the government and Left parties agreed to set up such a panel to look into the concerns raised by the latter. The committee has six members from the Congress, three from UPA partners and six from Left parties.
Mr Mukherjee also proposed that the debate on the nuclear deal be held in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday and in the Lok Sabha on September 10.
Mr Sibal also ruled out the possibility of revisiting the 123 pact. The minister said the government had merely said that it would take into account the concerns raised by the Left parties. “Taking into account their concerns never means you are bound by it,” he clarified.
“We will talk about them (concerns of Left parties). We will try and deal with those concerns, and when we come to a final decision, which we have to, we will take them into account,” he said. Mr Sibal claimed that the Left parties had never said that the government was bound to accept their concerns on the deal.
That the government is determined to complete the work of the panel expeditiously was clear when the minister said the task could be completed within a month. The minister’s assertion confirms the widely-held impression that the failure to put in motion the nuke talks at least by October will jeopardise the plans to ensure the deal ratification by the US Congress before it goes into recess by February-end.
The strategic community has been maintaining that the negotiations, particularly with the IAEA and the NSG countries, will be as complicated as working out the 123 Agreement with the US. As the NSG could apply conditions on India, the government would need time to complete the two remaining hurdles.
The government’s original plan was to give the nod to Atomic Energy Agency chairman Anil Kakodkar to start formal negotiations with IAEA officials at the IAEA general body meeting that starts on September 15 on the safeguards agreement.
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But that is now out of the question as the government has given a commitment to the Left that it will not go ahead with the discussions till the UPA-Left panel finalises its report. Mr Sibal’s statement that the government is not bound by the views of the UPA-Left panel is certain to rankle the Communists further.
Besides, it will also reinforce the impression that the panel is only a device to buy time for kicking off preparations for early polls.
The UPA-Left committee is expected to hold its first meeting after September 9. This was stated by senior CPM leader Sitaram Yechury after his discussions here with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who also heads the committee.
The composition of the 15-member committee was announced on Tuesday, a week after the government and Left parties agreed to set up such a panel to look into the concerns raised by the latter. The committee has six members from the Congress, three from UPA partners and six from Left parties.
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Mr Mukherjee also proposed that the debate on the nuclear deal be held in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday and in the Lok Sabha on September 10.
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