nuclear energy for india

WASHINGTON: The Senate has endorsed a landmark nuclear agreement between the United States and India, removing the final legislative hurdle to resumption of civilian nuclear trade between the two countries after three decades.

'The nuclear deal is a monumental achievement. Indian National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan said the world has now recognised India as a nuclear power,

However, Hindu nationalists and communists in India are fighting the deal.
In Islamabad, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said: 'Now, Pakistan also has the right to demand a civilian nuclear agreement with America. We want there to be no discrimination. Pakistan will also strive for a nuclear deal and we think they will have to accommodate us.'

The US is unlikely to agree as Pakistan's nuclear architect Abdul Qadeer Khan leaked atomic secrets to countries that included Iran and Libya.

On Wednesday, the Senate voted 86-13 to lift a ban on civilian nuclear trade imposed in 1974 after India - which has not signed an international pact aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons - first conducted a nuclear test explosion.

The deal, which will help provide critical energy to fuel India's booming economy, had already cleared the House of Representatives in a 298-117 vote.

It was a rare foreign policy success for US President George W. Bush, and advocates said the solid congressional backing underscored bipartisan support for a deal designed to improve relations with the world's most populous democracy.

Mr Bush said the deal would 'strengthen our global nuclear non-proliferation efforts, protect the environment, create jobs, and assist India in meeting its growing energy needs in a responsible manner'.

But the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the communists continued to slam the deal, saying it would curb India's military options and bring the country's foreign policy too much under US influence.

A BJP spokesman said: 'The deal has been done at the cost of the country's sovereignty and nuclear independence.'

The deal offers India access to sophisticated US technology and cheap atomic energy in return for New Delhi allowing the United Nations to inspect some of its civilian nuclear facilities. Military nuclear installations will not be opened for scrutiny.

Some US senators have criticised the deal because India is not a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, saying the move sets a bad example for nuclear renegades North Korea and Iran.