Mulayam to oppose N-liability Bill

Mulyam said capping the liability,where the government will share the large part of the liability was unacceptable. American companies will invest and the liability will be extorted from the Indian public. The government sharing the liability amounts to common public paying the bill for the damages, he said,objecting to the clause which caps the liability for the nuclear power plant operators at Rs 300 crore of the total Rs 2,200 crore liability cap.

Mulayam said his party had objections to the government paying for insurance premium to shield private operators in the field.

SPs opposition to the Bill,considered a crucial step towards operationalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal,holds significance in view of the fact that the party had rescued the UPA government in 2008 when Left parties withdrew support to it over the nuclear deal.

The move,sources said,was part of the partys aggressive positioning against the ruling Congress,which recently asserted itself against its outside supporters the SP and the RJD over the Womens Bill in Rajya Sabha. SP will now turn the heat on the government on all major legislative business in the Parliament,the sources said.