By IANS,
New Delhi: Expressing strong opposition to the nuclear liability bill in its present form, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) indicated Wednesday it was willing to consider any amendments to the legislation by the government.
“We opposed the bill at the introduction stage itself as it is not in national interest. When the government brings any amendments, we will look at them,” BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said here.
The BJP opposed introduction of the bill in the Lok Sabha Monday. BJP leader Yashwant Sinha also wrote a letter to the Lok Sabha secretary general that the bill violated the constitution on many counts.
Faced with fierce resistance from the BJP and the Left parties, the government deferred the introduction of the civil nuclear liability bill in the Lok Sabha and offered to talk to the opposition parties.
Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan renewed offer of dialogue to the opposition over the bill Wednesday, saying contentious issues should be “discussed coolly”.
He said “a lot of scare is being created by certain political parties, particularly by our Left friends” about the bill.
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2009, seeks to cap the operator’s liability at Rs.500 crore (around $100 million).