V P Singh does his bit to scuttle nuke deal with US

NEW DELHI: Putting pressure on the government to reveal nature of talks on the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, former Prime Minister V P Singh on Thursday demanded that Parliament approval should be made mandatory for all international agreements.

Criticising the government for keeping a matter that would affect generations of Indians shrouded in ‘secrecy’, Mr Singh said that Parliament should approve all international agreements.

“The government is the trustee of the nation. People have the right to know everything about the Indo-US nuclear deal,’’ he said, and added, “Why is there a secrecy attached to the whole process?’’

He demanded that the Constitution be amended to “make it mandatory for every international treaty to be passed by Parliament so that the people could be aware of the developments that influence generations”.

Mr Singh also expressed his fear that the deal would affect India’s right to conduct nuclear tests in the future and make India dependent on the US for both technology and fuel. He also urged better use of the thorium reserves.

Mr Singh’s opposition to the deal comes at a time when there is increasing domestic pressure on the government to reveal the nature of the bilateral agreement to assuage fears that India’s strategic interest isn’t being bartered away through the deal.