Nuclear Deal – hasten slowly.
Your today's issue has a joint statement by three well-known atomic scientists – Dr.P.K.Iyengar, Dr. A. Goplakrishnan and Dr. A.N.Prasad – asking the central government to hasten slowly with the nuclear deal with USA. They have asked the government to make available entire safeguards agreement and its associated papers to UPA-Left Committee and a set of independent experts. India has developed nuclear technology over the years by its own research after the atomic test conducted by Indira Gandhi in 1974 which resulted in the denial of nuclear and dual-use technology by USA and other western countries.
In a long article in a weekly, Dr. Iyengar has given many reasons for not signing the nuclear deal – the 123 agreement will be circumscribed by the provisions of the Hyde Act, if India conducts a nuclear test, the 123 agreement would abrogated and India has to return all nuclear material and this would severely constrain India's strategic programme, the 123 agreement dos not give India equal status to the USA as mentioned in the July 25, 2005 Joint Statement. He has also stated that the price of uranium has shot up from $20 to $85 per pound in the last three years.
Moreover, there is no national consensus on such an important national issue. While BJP and NDA want to re-negotiate the deal with better terms, the Leftists want do not want any co-operation,strategic or otherwise, with USA. Let there be clarity and let there be consensus. The way USA is pushing it through a consensus between the Republicans and the Democrats, it looks it is in the interest of USA rather than India. When Clinton was the president of USA, he was all for capping and rolling back India's atomic weapons programme in spite of the fact that India is surrounded by atomic nations. May be, USA want to achieve this through this agreement. In view of this, UPA and the Congress has to hasten slowly.
India energy security and growth would be undermined by both the cartels – by raising the price by the crude-oil cartel and the uranium cartel. India has to go in for more drilling for crude oil and gas. Already Reliance and Cairn have found crude oil and gas. India also has unexploited uranium mines. Coal power (using gasification technology to reduce pollution), hydro-power, solar power, wind power would provide India energy security and energy availability.
June 26, 2008
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