New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday dismissed
suggestions of any difference between the party and the
government over the Nuclear Liability Bill, saying it supports
the government fully on the issue.
"We support the government and the Bill fully. It's
our government," party spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan told
reporters at the AICC briefing.
She was answering queries on whether the party and the
government are on the same page on the issue.
The reaction of the party has come a day after the
National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon briefed some
senior party leaders on the benefits of the legislation and
the necessity for bringing it.
The Bill, a key step for operationalisation of
Indo-US nuclear deal, provides for compensation in the event
of a nuclear mishap and the modalities involved. It was slated
to be introduced in Lok Sabha on Monday but the government
decided against it at the last moment in view of stiff
opposition from Left parties, BJP and SP.
Those briefed by Menon included Union ministers Kapil
Sibal, Pawan Kumar Bansal, Prithviraj Chavan, Congress
spokespersons Manish Tewari and Jayanti Natarajan, Rashid
Alvi, Sandeep Dikshit, Rajiv Shukla and Mausam Noor.
Significantly, most of these Congress leaders interact with
the media often.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 21:06