US says it trusts PM on passage of n-liability bill

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jun 2 (PTI) The US Wednesday said it
trusted Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the passage of
the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill, even as India said it is
well within the agreed timeline on the implementation of the
landmark Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

India's External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said the
country was committed to putting in place a nuclear liability
regime.
"I have received some feedback on areas of particular
interest to members present here - foremost is the
implementation of the historic Civil Nuclear Agreement between
our two countries signed in 2008," he said in his address to
the US-India Business Council, ahead of the first-ever
Strategic Dialogue between India and the US.
"We are well within the agreed timelines, of course.
The Government is committed to put in place a nuclear
liability regime. We look forward to US companies investing in
India.Many of you are in dialogue with our companies already.
We would like it to be as robust a partnership as we have both
envisioned," he said.
In an interaction with journalists, Assistant
Secretary of State for South Asia Robert Blake said the US was
very much "encouraged" with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's
recent statement in which he made a strong pitch for the
passage of the nuclear liability bill.
Opposition parties like Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
and Left are strongly opposed to the bill in the present form
and had even disrupted Parliament when it was introduced last
month.
"The US is very much encouraged with the reaction (of
Singh). We trust the Prime Minister," he said.
"How it is managed is something which we cannot
decide. We respect the judgement of the Prime Minister," he
said.
Blake said the passage of legislation will allow
American companies to do business in India.
The passage of the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill is a
crucial step in the implementation of the landmark nuclear
deal.
Krishna's statement came in the wake of the increasing
anxiety in America's corporate sector as the they have not
been able to get the business so far.
Singh had on May 24 said ll political parties
interested in ensuring that India's atomic power programme
moves forward will support the bill. PTI LKJ