BJP vows to renegotiate as Congress hails historic deal
IANS, Published: October 03, 2008, 00:14

New Delhi: With the ruling Congress terming the India-US civilian nuclear deal "historic", the communist opposition slamming it as a surrender to US imperialism and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vowing to renegotiate the deal if it came to power, reactions to the US Senate clearing the 123 Agreement were predictably diverse.

"It is a historic day. The deal is in the interest of India. It is a recognition of India as a superpower and the triumph of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's vision," said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, who has been vigorously defending the deal at many forums, said the passage of the nuclear deal by the Senate would silence all critics.

While the Congress exulted, the BJP maintained that the government had knowingly stepped into a blind trap and would not be able to get out of it easily.

"There are certain clauses in the 123 Agreement which we do not agree upon. If we come to power, we would renegotiate on those points," BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy said. "The deal has been done at the cost of the country's sovereignty and nuclear independence. We don't accept it in its current form."

The Left parties, which withdrew support to the United Progressive Alliance government in July over differences on the nuclear deal, also said they would step up protests.

Benefits galore

The agreement could open up around $27 billion (Dh99.22 billion) in investments in 18-20 nuclear plants over the next 15 years, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry.

By 2030, the overall economic benefits that will accrue to India's economy as a result of nuclear trade could touch $500 billion (Dh1.84 trillion), says Imagindia Institute, an Indian lobby group.

The deal is expected to double nuclear power's share in India's electricity supply to 5-7 per cent in the next two decades.

With nuclear fuel in short supply, India's nuclear power plants are running at 55 per cent of their capacity of about 4,000 megawatts.

India's electricity supply, about 15 per cent short of demand in peak hours, will get a boost after the deal, but any new nuclear power plant may take a decade for completion, leaving India dependent on other fuels.

Indian media say the country's monopoly Nuclear Power Corp has tentatively picked four suppliers, including US-based Westinghouse Electric and France's Areva, for planned new projects. Westinghouse is a unit of Toshiba Corp. Areva said on Monday that it hoped to sign a contract with Indian authorities to deliver two advanced EPR reactors.

India is also reported to be negotiating with General Electric, Hitachi and Russia's atomic energy agency Rosatom.

Russia is already building two 1,000 megawatt reactors at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu as part of a deal signed in 1988. Indian officials say the two countries will begin discussions on a multi-billion dollar agreement to build four more nuclear reactors in Kudankulam, which has been delayed because of international restrictions.

Russian reactors cost up to $2 billion (Dh7.35 billion) each but India could expect a hefty discount on such a major deal, as Russia competes with the US for influence in India.