Nuke Deal With U.S. Criticized in India

President Bush, seated, center, surrounded by members of Congress and officials, signs the U.S.- India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Dec. 18, 2006. From left are, Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., R-Ind., Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., outgoing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tenn., Sen.. George Allen, R-Va., Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J. and Ambassador Raminder Jassal. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds) (Ron Edmonds - AP)

NEW DELHI -- A nuclear cooperation pact touted as the cornerstone of an emerging India-U.S. partnership faced renewed criticism Tuesday in New Delhi, underscoring how far the countries have to go as they try to overcome decades of mistrust.

One Indian lawmaker called the pact an American attempt to undermine India's cherished atomic weapons program. Another suggested Washington wanted to dictate New Delhi's foreign policy.

The criticism came a day after President Bush signed a law allowing Washington to ship nuclear fuel and technology to New Delhi. The law, which reverses 30 years of U.S. atomic policy, was a key step toward implementing the deal.

The pact is firmly supported by India's government and is unlikely to be rejected by New Delhi.

The rancor here illustrates the shared democratic values that are bringing India and the United States together _ and similar independent streaks, which could present the biggest obstacles to a closer partnership.

"When it comes to foreign policy, like America, the record says India has always pursued its own interests, acting unilaterally if necessary," said C. Uday Bhaskar, a senior analyst at the Institute for Defense Studies in New Delhi.

New Delhi's and Washington's foreign policy goals are often not in sync, as evidenced by a nonbinding clause in the new U.S. legislation directing the president to determine whether India is cooperating with American efforts to confront Iran about its nuclear program.

Many here are rankled by suggestions from Washington that New Delhi should support American policy, be it on longtime ally Iran or on China, with whom India is seeking closer ties.

"Our foreign policy must remain independent," said Basudeb Acharia of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which supports India's governing coalition. "If they don't agree to remove these conditions then we will have no choice but to put pressure on the government not to sign."

On the other side of the political spectrum, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, a Hindu nationalist group, is criticizing the deal as an American plan to undermine India's nuclear weapons program.

Many Indians argue nuclear weapons are key to the country's international standing, and nearly everyone agrees they are a needed deterrent against neighboring archrival Pakistan, which has them as well.

"The objective of Washington's policy is to halt, roll back and eliminate" India's nuclear capability, BJP lawmaker Arun Shourie said Tuesday during debate in the upper house of India's Parliament.

In exchange for nuclear fuel and knowledge, India has agreed to place 14 civilian nuclear plants under international inspections. Eight military plants would remain off-limits.

The deal, if completed, would open the international nuclear market to India after it was closed by the country's long-standing refusal to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. New Delhi wants to get the fuel and know-how it needs to build new reactors and overcome a chronic energy crunch, which analysts say could limit economic growth.

American critics say the plan could boost India's nuclear arsenal and spark a nuclear arms race with Pakistan.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday defended the deal as good for the country, and said any concerns New Delhi has would be dealt with during technical negotiations next year.

He didn't elaborate on India's concerns, but some of India's top nuclear scientists have voiced fears the deal could limit New Delhi's right to reprocess spent atomic fuel and employ other sensitive nuclear technologies.