Posted by K.E. White on August 9, 2007
Summary: PM Singh faces down growing opposition in India’s Parliament—but is it fully committed? The Left opposes, but not demanding a Parliamentary Probe on the deal. And one quick note—treaties need only the Prime Minister’s approval, not official sanction by Parliament.
While opposition may have been from the BJP opposition party, but now Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is reacting to discontent from his Left Front coalition partners.
From The Hindu:
West Bengal’s ruling Left Front today demanded that the Indo-US civil nuclear deal should not be operationalised and should be placed in Parliament for detailed discussions despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s assertion that it could not be renegotiated.
“Since there is no constitutional provision to scrap the 123 agreement, a constitutional amendment is required,” Left Front chairman Biman Bose said.
MPs should be allowed to give their views on the deal, seek changes in its provisions and insert new paras in it, he said.
Bose, a member of the CPI-M Polit Bureau, said the deal would facilitate a tie-up of the nuclear policies of India and the US, which could not be accepted.
But Prime Minister Singh isn’t caving, and the Left’s opposition seems to be skin-deep:
The Left’s protest against the deal follows rejection by BJP as well as UNPA. While this is a setback to the government’s efforts to forge a consensus and will result in fireworks in the coming session of Parliament, PM’s response shows that the government is determined to stand its ground. It is not likely to agree to a scrutiny of the deal by a joint parliamentary probe — a demand which has come from BJP but which the Left, significantly, did not endorse on Tuesday.
Posted in BJP, India Nuclear Deal, Left Front, Manmohan Singh | Leave a Comment »
Posted by K.E. White on August 9, 2007
Summary: Areva SA and General Electric are Big Winners—but Japan and Russia take a slice of the nuclear cake as well. And remember, America’s not only nation with an Indian nuclear deal.
From Bloomberg Asia:
Areva SA, the world’s largest maker of nuclear power stations, and General Electric Co. are among four companies poised to share $14 billion of orders from India as nations led by the U.S. prepare to lift a 33-year ban.
Toshiba Corp.’s Westinghouse Electric Co. and Russia’s atomic energy agency Rosatom will probably also win contracts to each build two 1,000 megawatt reactors, said Nuclear Power Corp. of India Chairman S. K. Jain. India will be able to purchase equipment after an Aug. 3 accord with the U.S. is approved by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group.
But, as the mention of Rosatom suggests, India has its own nuclear deal with Russia. The Bloomberg Asia continues:
India signed a similar civilian nuclear agreement with Russia in January. Russia is helping India build the two 1,000- megawatt light water reactors at the Kudankulam nuclear power station in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
International sanctions against India were prompted by the nation’s testing of a nuclear weapon in 1974. The explosion conducted in a desert in western India prompted the formation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Another round of tests by India in 1998 led to the U.S. choking trade with India by blocking the Export-Import Bank and Overseas Private Investment Corp. from guarantee loans to projects in India.
The U.S. removed the economic sanctions in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks to bolster support for its campaign against terrorism.
Posted in Areva SA, General Electric, India Nuclear Deal, Rosatom, Toshiba | 1 Comment »
