New Delhi
4 March 2008
A visiting United States Government official on Tuesday said that
the Hyde Act is a domestic legislation but it would have to be taken into account for
operationalising the India-US nuclear deal.
"I don't want to go into technicalities. The Hyde Act is a domestic legislation (and) the
123 agreement is an international agreement. I think we can move forward with both
in a consistent manner," US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher told reporters
here.
Boucher, who called on Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and held talks with other
officials, was responding to a question whether the Hyde Act would have any bearing on
the proposed India-US civil nuclear cooperation agreement.
The US official is on a two-day visit to India.
Boucher's assertion stands out in contrast to some of the recent remarks made by his
superior, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who emphasised the centrality of the
Hyde Act to civil nuclear cooperation pact with India.
Ms Rice said that the Bush Administration will support nothing with India in the Nuclear
Suppliers Group that is in contradiction to the Hyde Act. She told the House of
Representatives Foreign Affairs Panel: "We will support nothing with India in the NSG
that is in contradiction to the Hyde Act. It will have to be completely consistent with the
obligations of the Hyde Act". To drive home the point, Ms Rice said that "we will have to
be consistent with the Hyde Act or I don't believe we can count on the Congress to make
the next step".
New Delhi has held that the Hyde Act contains prescriptive clauses that includes
cessation of all civilian nuclear cooperation in case India tests a nuclear weapon and
also restricts reprocessing of spent fuel.
Boucher's remarks come barely a day after Minister of External Affairs Pranab
Mukherjee told Parliament that India will not be bound by the Hyde Act. He also said that
the UPA Government would continue to seek broad political consensus on the nuclear
deal.
Mr Mukherjee has said that the Hyde Act is an enabling provision that is between the
executive and the legislative organs of the US Government. "India's rights and
obligations regarding civil nuclear cooperation with the US arise only from the bilateral
123 agreement that we have agreed upon with the US," he said.
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