US Congress nears final India nuclear bill

UNITED STATES: The US Congress began preparing final legislation to give India access to civilian nuclear technology amid concerns that inclusion of sensitive provisions may break the landmark deal.

The House of Representatives and Senate this week will reconcile their bills on the nuclear deal into uniform legislation to be put before the two chambers for approval again and signed into law by President George W. Bush, officials said.

"Work will begin immediately with the intention of completing all action by week's end," Bill Frist, the Republican majority leader in the Senate, said Monday as he appointed five senators from both sides of the political divide to work on the single legislation.

Indian officials have expressed concern that some of the provisions proposed contradicted the spirit of the original agreement first reached between Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in July last year.

Under the deal, India, a non-signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), will be given access to civilian nuclear technology in return for placing its atomic reactors under global safeguards.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrote last week to leaders of the House and Senate to remove or weaken some of the provisions, including one restricting nuclear technology transferred to India and another seeking New Delhi's support to end Iran's sensitive nuclear program.

But seven House Democratic lawmakers "strongly" insisted that the controversial provisions be included in the final legislation.

"Why in the world would secretary Rice ask that Congress remove all of the provisions which would strengthen nonproliferation, such as requiring India to help the United States prevent Iran from going nuclear?" asked Edward Markey, co-chair of the House Taskforce on Nonproliferation, among the seven.

"It seems as if the administration is trying to remove the fig leaf from this flawed deal," he said.

Meanwhile Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and denied any parallel to his own country, an atomic power that has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

In an interview published Tuesday ahead of a visit to Tokyo, Singh said he shared Japan's concerns about North Korea, which tested its first atom bomb on October 9.

"I sincerely believe in the various parties who have been given the responsibility to persuade North Korea to desist from going nuclear and to give up its nuclear ambitions," Singh told the Yomiuri Shimbun. "We certainly would like these efforts to succeed. We sympathize with and appreciate Japan's concerns," he said.

WASHINGTON, Tokyo, Tuesday, AFP