New Delhi:
The government has once again over 48 hours managed to unite the Left and Right opposition in Parliament. The CPM and BJP on Sunday vowed to fight the latest change to the controversial nuclear liability bill by the government.
Once it becomes law it would govern the liability of a nuclear reactor or equipment supplier in case of an accident.
The government's controversial proposal reads:
"...the nuclear incident has resulted as a consequence of an act of supplier or his employees, done with the intent to cause nuclear damage..."
"It exonerates the foreign suppliers of any liability, which mean if a Bhopal type incident happens then we will have to prove that a Warren Anderson type of person was trying to kill the people of Bhopal. That just does not happen. Also it is contrary to the consensus that was sought in the standing committee," said Prasenjit Bose, CPM leader.
"We will bring it to the notice of the government that this is not what was acceptable for the BJP. We will certainly ask them to amend this amendment," said Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP Spokesperson.
Sources say the government will once again discuss the bill with the BJP before it is taken up for discussion in the House.
"The bill is a work in progress and if there are any legitimate concerns then the government will take them on board," said Manish Tewari, Congress Spokesperson.
The Prime Minister is keen to pass the nuclear liability bill before President Obama's visit, and this is the only parliament session before that visit. It means that the government has only till the end of this month to pass the controversial bill.