New York: Criticising US lawmakers for approving the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, an influential American daily New York Times said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George W Bush could have done far better building their new partnership on something other than the "bad deal."
In an editorial, New York Times expressed fear that the deal could fuel a nuclear arms race in the subcontinent and claimed India could divert the uranium supplied by the US to making of nuclear weapons.
"Many on Capitol Hill complained last year that Bush Administration got taken to the cleaners when it negotiated a nuclear cooperation deal with India. But with so much pro-India lobbying money sloshing around up there, hopes are fast fading that Congress will do anything to fix it," it said.
The agreement, the editorial said, will allow the US to sell civilian nuclear technology and fuel to India for the first time since the mid-1970s, when India "diverted civil technology to a secret weapons programme."
"Bringing the world's most populous democracy and 12th largest economy back from the nuclear cold isn't necessarily a bad idea. The problem is that the US got very little for it. No Indian promise to stop producing bomb-making material. No promise not to expand its arsenal. And no binding promise not to resume nuclear testing. (The White House won't promise that either.)," it claimed.
The editorial came a day after the 435-member House of Representatives passed by a 359-68 vote a bill providing greater access of sensitive nuclear technology to India.
Comments
0 comment