Menon briefs Cong leaders on benefits of nuke liability bill

New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) As Congress braces to counter
Opposition onslaught on the nuclear liability bill, National
Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon Tuesday briefed some senior
party leaders on the benefits of the legislation and the
necessity for bringing it.

The bill is a key step for operationalisation of
Indo-US nuclear deal.
The bill, which provides for compensation in the event
of a nuclear mishap and the modalities involved, was slated to
be introduced in Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament)
Monday but the government decided against it at the last
moment in view of stiff opposition from Left parties,
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Samajwadi Party (SP).
These parties have been objecting to the provision
under which the liability will be capped at Rs 500 crore and
the entire amount would have to be paid by the Indian operator
while the foreign supplier would go "scot-free". United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) ally Trinamool Congress is also
said to have reservations over the bill.
During the hour long briefing, Menon explained to the
Congress leaders the need to introduce the Civil Nuclear
Liability Bill. He also apprised them of the advantages of the
proposed legislation.
With regard to the Opposition attack over the cap on
compensation, Menon told the Congress leaders that the
apprehensions were unfounded as there was provision for giving
relief at three stages.
Those briefed included Union ministers Kapil Sibal,
Pawan Kumar Bansal, Prithviraj Chavan, Congress spokespersons
Manish Tewari and Jayanti Natarajan, Rashid Alvi, Sandeep
Dikshit, Rajiv Shukla and Mausam Noor. Significantly, most of
these Congress leaders interact with media often. (MORE) PTI
AMR
MRD


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