By IANS
New Delhi : Parliament may be closer to debating the India-US civil nuclear deal, with most parties that had been opposing a discussion now appearing amenable to it.
A free and frank exchange of views could take place in the upcoming winter session of parliament.
In the last budget session, the Left parties sought a debate on the issue. But the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalled the proceedings, insisting on a Lok Sabha debate under Rule 184, which requires voting at the end of the discussion.
Simultaneously, the BJP, backed by other partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), also sought an undertaking from the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to constitute a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to study the deal. The government rejected the demand.
In the end, amid much acrimony, no discussion took place.
Now the Left parties seem to have persuaded the Samajwadi Party and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) that it was important to know the sense of the house vis-à-vis the controversial nuclear deal.
Earlier this week, general secretaries Prakash Karat of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and A.B. Bardhan of the Communist Party of India (CPI) met Samajwadi Party and TDP leaders.
Immediately thereafter, TDP leader and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said: “We are in agreement with the Left line of securing the sense of the house.”
He later said that there was no point in pressing for a JPC.
Similarly, Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha member Shahid Siddiqui said: “The sense of the house means that the majority of the house is opposed to the deal. This should be proved on the floor of the house by holding a debate.”
The BJP, which US officials are trying to persuade to back the nuclear bill, is also for a discussion now.
Asked if his party would insist on a debate under Rule 184, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad: “We have several alternatives, we will see later.”