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India should reject US terms for nuke deal: CPI-M

By IANS 

New Delhi : The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Friday asked the government to clarify in parliament the status of negotiations on India-US nuclear deal and the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project in the wake of a reported letter from US lawmakers asking New Delhi to terminate the pipeline scheme.

"With the 123 agreement being negotiated and the US mounting steady pressure, it is imperative that the government makes a statement in parliament about both the status of the negotiations and on how the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project is progressing," the CPI-M politburo said in a statement here.

"Parliament and the people have to be informed on these two vital issues," it demanded.

A group of US lawmakers have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to "sever" military ties with Iran and terminate all cooperation in the energy sector before going ahead with the nuclear deal negotiations.

The politburo said the letter was the second within a fortnight – eight senators had earlier written one on the same issue.

"The Hyde Act passed by the US Congress had set out unacceptable terms on how India should conduct itself with regard to Iran and other foreign policy issues," the statement said.

The party that supports the Congress-led coalition government from outside, said the nuclear cooperation agreement with the US entailed a much wider strategic alignment which would seriously damage India's foreign policy and strategic autonomy.