Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the
Parliament Tuesday that no foreign interference will be allowed
concerning India's strategic nuclear programs.
Mukherjee made the statement in the House of the People of
Indian Parliament after the main opposition party Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) and Left parties openly opposed to the legislation
passed by US Congress on India-US civilian nuclear deal.
"The Government has taken note of certain extraneous and
prescriptive provisions in the legislation," he said, "We have
always maintained that the conduct of foreign policy determined
solely by our national interests is our sovereign right. We have
also been clear that our strategic program remains outside the
purview of these discussions."
The US Congress passed the final legislation after a
Senate-House reconciliation conference on Saturday, which will
allow the US administration to export nuclear fuel and technologies
for civilian use to India.
The nuclear understanding with the United States is significant
for India's energy security, Mukherjee said.
"Energy security has become a critical constraint in expanding
our economic growth and development," he said, adding that India's
nuclear energy only contributes less than 3 percent of the
country's energy supply.
India plans to increase the nuclear power generation to 30,000
MW by 2022 and 63,000 MW by 2032.
"The absence of international cooperation constrains us from
reaching these nuclear energy targets," he said.
The Left Parties, supporting the ruling coalition government,
said on Monday that the US legislation on civil nuclear deal was
not acceptable while the BJP also asked the government to reject
the legislation as it contained "humiliating conditionalities."
Mukherjee defended that Washington has categorically assured
India that the legislation explicitly authorizes civil nuclear
cooperation with India in a manner fully consistent with the two
joint statements made on July 18, 2005 and March 2 this year.
(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2006)
