Communist Party of India leader Dr Rupachand Pal has said that the Left parties are not satisfied with the enabling legislation for the nuclear deal passed by the United States Congress.
Pal and colleague Basudev Achariya said that the Left was not satisfied with the reply given by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Parliament.
"We would like to know the response of the government from Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh about the inclusion of some extraneous factors into the bill. This clearly violates the spirit of the agreement that President George W Bush and Dr Singh signed in July 2005," Pal said.
He alleged that the United States and the Nuclear Suppliers Group are applying pressure on the Indian government to accept NPT through back door.
"We made a list of nine points that we can say are clear departures from the earlier understanding. We would like Dr Singh to clarify the government position," he said.
The Left parties have asked for a discussion of the bill in Parliament under Rule 193.
PTI adds:
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party also alleged that the deal, as passed by the US Congress, was against India's interests.
The BJP sought a discussion on the issue in the Lok Sabha under Rule 184, which means the issue will come up for voting.
Deputy Leader of Lok Sabha Vijay Kumar Malhotra said that the party had expressed its views against the deal, which it claimed undermined the efforts of Indian nuclear scientists who had achieved several breakthroughs despite sanctions.
