US Presidential Determination

Friday, September 12, 2008

Press Statement

 The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

 US Presidential Determination

Once More Exposes Manmohan Singh Government

 The Presidential Determination sent to the US Congress contradicts the claims made by the Government of India that it has got guarantees for permanent fuel supplies and on perpetual safeguards. The covering note of the Determination states that there are no legally binding assurances on the US for fuel supplies. Para 2 of the determination also makes clear that the IAEA safeguards are in perpetuity and not as Indian officials have claimed. Thus while the US does not guarantee assured nuclear fuel supplies, India has accepted its safeguards in perpetuity. Further, it will be recalled that the Hyde Act had a specific condition regarding India’s cooperation with US policy on Iran.

The Government had stated that the Hyde Act was not binding on it. The NSG waiver, quoted Pranab Mukherjee’s Sept 5 statement that India would join international efforts to stop the spread of enrichment and reprocessing technologies, an obvious reference to Iran. The Presidential Determination reiterates this. It states “India will now support the United States and international efforts to prevent the spread of enrichment and reprocessing technologies to any State that does not already possess full-scale, functioning enrichment or reprocessing plants.” Clearly India has succumbed to US pressure to deny Iran the rights it has as a signatory to the NPT. On all these issues it is the Hyde Act which has prevailed. This is precisely what the Left parties have been saying. The Bush Determination once more proves that Government of India has consistently misled the people of this country.