Cong lauds agreementTerming the draft agreement to implement the civilian nuclear deal with the US as the “best possible deal under the circumstances”, the Congress on Friday said it recognises India as a nuclear power. Expressing the Congress party’s gratitude to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi for the “major step forward,” party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the full text of the draft agreement made public on Friday reveals that India has extracted the best possible agreement in the national interest. Left reserves comment The Left parties chose to reserve their comments on the Indo-US deal, the text of which was unveiled by the government on Friday, saying they have to analyse its finer points and consult scientists before coming out with a formal reaction. The Left parties are expected to meet on Tuesday to discuss the draft in detail. BJP’s detailed response today The BJP said its “fears about the 123 agreement have come true and the deal will adversely affect India’s strategic nuclear programme”. After a high-level meeting of the party attended by former prime minister A B Vajpayee, leader of opposition L K Advani, former Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and former NSA Brajesh Mishra, a party spokesperson said BJP will come out with a detailed response by Saturday, after studying the draft. Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said “the reservations that we expressed earlier are still outstanding. They, in fact, have multiplied.” Scientists cautiousNuclear scientists on Friday guardedly welcomed the 123 Agreement between India and the United States saying this was probably the best deal India could have obtained in the present circumstances. “It is as good a deal as we could have got at this point in time given the position the United States had set out,” former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission M R Srinivasan told The Indian Express. “Both sides have had to make compromises but in the end I think it is a good agreement.” Srinivasan’s point was backed by Placid Rodrigues, former director of Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research. Rodrigues, however, said the embargo on dual-use items will deny India vital components. Chairman and Managing Director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India S K Jain said the deal was quite good for both the countries and it had taken into account all of India’s concerns.
