N-liability bill to be introduced in LS Friday

New Delhi, May 6 (PTI) The controversial nuclear
liability bill, whose passage is a key step for
operationalisation of Indo-US civil nuclear deal, will be
introduced in the Lower House of the Indian Parliament Friday,
the final day of the budget session.
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, which is
facing stiff resistance from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and
Left parties, was included in Friday's revised list of
business of the House late at night.
The decision of the government came after Samajwadi Party
chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
leader Lalu Prasad met India's Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee and Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal this
evening and are understood to have given an assurance about
their support on the issue.
Subsequently, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs wrote
to the Lok Sabha Secretariat conveying the government's
intention of introducing the nuclear liability in the Lok
Sabha Friday.
Earlier, the government had listed the bill for
introduction on March 15 but had to defer it at the last
moment after it realised that it did not have the requisite
numbers to see its introduction in the Lok Sabha.
The bill, providing for compensation in the case of a
nuclear accident, pegs the maximum amount of liability on the
operator at Rs 500 crore, which is the main issue of
contention.
BJP and Left parties have been questioning the cap on
compensation to be paid by the operator and have vowed to
resist it in its present form.
The Indian government had reached out to these parties,
trying to convince them that there was no cap and the amount
was mentioned only for technical reasons to enable the
operator to get insurance cover for a nuclear plant.
However, BJP and Left parties have refused to budge. PTI
SKU
RDM


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