Indian lawmakers opposed to New Delhi's nuclear pact with Washington stalled parliament Thursday after a U.S. statement that the deal would be terminated if India conducted a nuclear test.
Somnath Chatterjee, speaker of the lower house (House of the People), adjourned the house for the day as lawmakers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the major opposition party, joined by those from the Left shouted slogans opposing the pact as anti-India.
India's foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee, whose statement was drowned out in the noise, insisted New Delhi retained its sovereign right to nuclear testing, which he said would be carried out as and when required.
"The only restraint is our voluntary unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing, declared by the previous (BJP-led) government, and being continued by the successor government. There is nothing in the bilateral agreement that would tie the hands of a future government or legally constrain its options," Mukherjee said.
A decision to conduct a nuclear test, he added, would be solely rest with the Indian government. "The bilateral cooperation agreement contains elaborate provisions in Articles 5 and 14 to ensure the continuous operation of India's reactors."
The United States and India have given different interpretations of the deal, which gives India access to civilian nuclear fuel and technology.
A U.S. State Department spokesman Wednesday said all cooperation would be terminated if a nuclear test takes place in India.
