Liability bill for consideration in Monsoon session, hopes Govt

After introducing the controversial nuclear liability bill in the Lok Sabha amid opposition protests, Government today said it hopes to bring it for consideration in the Monsoon session of Parliament.

After introducing the controversial nuclear liability bill in the Lok Sabha amid opposition protests, Government today said it hopes to bring it for consideration in the Monsoon session of Parliament.

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"The bill will go to the concerned standing committee, which would deliberate upon it in the next two months. I hope it will come with the report in the Monsoon session," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said.

He dismissed the suggestion that the government faced embarrassment for not being able to introduce it earlier.

The Civil Liability For Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, which provides for payment of compensation in the event of a nuclear accident, was introduced in the Lower House amid protests and walkout by opposition NDA and Left parties which termed it as "illegal" and "unconstitutional".

The bill, whose passage is a key requirement for operationalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal, provides for the maximum liability of Rs 500 crore on the part of the operator in the case of a nuclear accident, a provision that is the main cause of opposition by the NDA and Left parties.

Significantly, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and RJD leader Lalu Prasad, who had opposed the bill in March when the first attempt was made to introduce it, appeared to be siding with the government this time.

Replying to a question on enlisting the backing of SP, RJD and BSP, Bansal said the three parties have given their support to the UPA in writing.

"It is still there and has not been withdrawn," he said while maintaining it did not mean that they would subscribe to all views of the government.