May 4, 2007

Press Statement

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

Reject US Terms for Nuclear Cooperation

The letter written by seven US Congressmen to the Prime Minister demanding that India terminate cooperation with Iran in the energy sector and military spheres is the latest instance of US pressure to abide by its conditions for concluding the nuclear cooperation agreement. This is the second letter within a fortnight, the earlier one by eight US senators.

The Hyde Act passed by the US Congress had set out unacceptable terms on how India should conduct itself with regard to Iran and other foreign policy issues. The CPI(M) has repeatedly pointed out that the nuclear cooperation agreement entails a much wider strategic alignment which will seriously damage India’s foreign policy and strategic autonomy.

The CPI(M) was of the opinion that the 123 agreement should not be negotiated with the United States without clarifying all the issues which were raised in the Prime Minister’s statement in parliament. With the 123 agreement being negotiated and the US mounting steady pressure, it is imperative that the government make a statement in parliament about both the status of the negotiations and on how the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project is progressing. The parliament and the people have to be informed on these two vital issues.