New Delhi
4 May 2007
The NDA and the Left parties, which are supporting the UPA
Government, on Friday closed ranks on the issue of American lawmakers writing to
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, asking India to back off from her engagements with
Iran to save the nuclear deal with the United States. No sooner the Rajya Sabha
assembled this morning than the Opposition NDA and the Left parties raised a chorus of
protest against what they said was an "insult" to India and to her "sovereignty".
Yashwant Sinha (BJP) and Digvijay Singh of Janata Dal (United) were joined by Brinda
Karat of CPI(M) in demanding suspension of the Question Hour to discuss the issue and
sought an explanation from the government.
Mr Sinha, who was the minister of external affairs in the erstwhile NDA government,
referred "dangerous developments" on the ongoing negotiations on the civilian nuclear
cooperation agreement with the US to suggest that the UPA was "buckling under US
pressure". Parliament, he said, was the ultimate repository of sovereignty of India and
the strong message must be sent out that the US Senators' act of writing a letter to the
Prime Minister would not be tolerated. Mr Sinha said that "accepting the terms
prescribed by the US flies in the face of the assurance given by the Prime Minister to the
House". He reminded the House that Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee of the US, has on an earlier occasion described former minister of external
affairs Natwar Singh as "dense".
Mr Digvijay Singh of Janata Dal (United), an NDA ally, said that the 100 crore people of
India would not succumb to such acts and Iran "was, is and will always" remain a friend
of India.
Brinda Karat of CPI(M) joined the debate by registering her party's "very very strong
protest" at the development. "The temerity of the US Senators to write a letter is an insult
to the prime minister ... an open threat to the sovereignty of India," she said. "It is
absolutely essential for the House today to unanimously condemn it and for the
government to call the American envoy ... this is not the first time the US has intervened
directly (in India's affairs)," she added.
Replying to the issues raised, Parliamentary Affairs Minister PR Dasmunshi said that it
was not the philosophy of the UPA to hide anything from Parliament and it will not make
any compromise on national interest and sovereignty. The Prime Minister, he said, has
on several occasions responded and has not kept the House in the dark on the nuclear
deal. The UPA Government was for doing the deal transparently, he said. "Our
government is not in a position to make any compromise anywhere to affect sovereignty
of the country," he said. His remarks in Hindi on BJP buckling under US pressure led to
an uproar but the chairman expunged the remarks. Mr Dasmunshi said that there was a
big difference in philosophy of the UPA and NDA and it was not in Congress party's
nature to surrender to the US. He assured the House that the Prime Minister would be
informed of the sentiments of the members and said "I am sure he will make a
statement."
A group of influential lawmakers in the US have sent a letter to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh warning that India's "strengthening relationship" with Iran will be a
factor when the US Congress finally votes on the civilian nuclear cooperation agreement.
The letter has listed, what the lawmakers say, a series of recent meetings between
Indian and Iranian officials as indications of growing cooperation between the two
countries on military and energy issues. "We must stress that the subject of India's
strengthening relationship with Iran will inevitably be a factor" when Congress votes on
the final language of the nuclear agreement, the letter said, according to a report in The
Washington Post. The letter has been signed by Tom Lantos, chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee; Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; Howard Berman; Gary Ackerman, who is
the chair of the House West Asia and South Asia subcommittee; Mike Pence; Brad
Sherman, chairman of House subcommittee on terrorism and non-proliferation; and Ed
Royce.
Mr Yashwant Sinha told this newspaper outside Parliament House that the BJP has
learnt that Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon was "treated with sterness" on his just
concluded visit to Washington. "This has happened in the past ... Indian officials were
sternly dealt with during the WTO (World Trade Organisation) negotiations," Mr Sinha
said. Later he told reporters that the government has not taken Parliament into
confidence despite it being in session. He said, "The government has been silent on the
talks on Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan. Pakistan says it is close to resolution of the
Kashmir issue but the Government of India has not taken Parliament into confidence.
(Ironically) Pakistan says it will take the matter to its Parliament and only then can it
approve of any resolution. Similarly on the nuclear deal, Government of India has not
responded to Parliament. And now comes this letter which has warned India (to review
her ties with Iran) ... US Senators have no right to (do this)." He went on to assert that
George Tenet, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency of the US, has written in
his book that the US applied pressure on the then prime minister PV Narasimha Rao and
got him to stop nuclear tests after it learnt of India's plans to test a nuclear device in
1995. "Three years later, in 1998, the erstwhile NDA government successfully conducted
nuclear tests. He (Tenet) says in his book that not detecting them was a failure on the
part of the CIA," Mr Sinha said.
Ms Karat, in turn, told reporters, "It's a most objectionable letter [and] an insult to the
country's sovereignty. (They have] the temerity to issue threats ... this raises questions
about the negotiations on the nuclear deal." She wondered whether the writing of letter
was a sequel to "a signal (given by India) that India was prepared to discuss extraneous
issues". Ms Karat insisted that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh must tell the House that
the negotiations would not undermine India's interests. "Parliament will not be in
session when the agreement will be signed. Therefore it is incumbent on the government
(to come clean on the issue)," she said.
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