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NT Bureau
Chennai, Sept 5:
 

AICC member Karti P Chidambaram at a group discussion on Indo-US nuke deal in Chennai yesterday. Also seen are veteran congressman Gopanna, senior journalist N Ramadurai, former director of Safety Research Programme, IGCAR, Kalpakkam, L V Krishnan, IGCAR former director Placid Rodriguez and BARC former director K Balu.

        Karti P Chidambaram, son of Finance Minister P Chidambaram and member of the All-India Congress Committee, in an apparent bid to support the Indo-American nuclear deal entered into by the UPA government, took the position of the moderator at a group discussion on the controversial deal that was organised in Chennai yesterday.

        In his introductory remarks, Karti said those who were unaware of the benefits were talking ill of the agreement. 'This reminds me the famous story of five blind men who went to see an elephant. Much is being talked about the deal without fully going through it.'

        Stating that the media was also under the compulsion of discussing about the deal within a stipulated time, Karti said people were in a confused state of mind due to misinterpretation made from many sides.

        Speaking on the discussion, former Director of the Nuclear Recycle Group, BARC, Mumbai, K Balu said the negotiations of the Indo-US deal were started by the previous government and not by the ruling UPA.

        'Only to occupy headlines in newspapers and television channels, some are bad mouthing the deal. In whatever way you see, the agreement only benefits our country,' he added.

        Balu also said politicos have become pseudo scientists and scientists pseudo politicians while talking about the deal.

        'Some are protesting only because they are opposition parties and some are agitating since they don't like America,' he added.

        Balu stressed that the agreement should be analysed clause to clause before talking anything about it.

        In his address, president of Indian Nuclear Society and former Director of IGCAR, Kalpakkam, Placid Rodriguez said the deal was so good for the future of the country considering the geo-political situations.

        'If India wants to grow, it needs energy. If we have to produce more energy, then the deal has to be supported,' he said.

        Stating the 123 agreement as the need of the hour, former director of Safety Research Programme, IGCAR, Kalpakkam, L V Krishnan said, 'our country was depending on lignite for electricity. There could be a scarcity of lignite over a certain period time and that atomic power was the only effective way to address this.'

        Former news editor of Dinamani N Ramadurai said in his address that environment was getting polluted due to lignite.

        He said the maintenance cost was very less for atomic centres, though huge investments were needed to establish them. 'But the situation is not the same in lignite,' he said.

        Ramadurai also said the US wanted to ink such a pact with only because India was going to become a super power in the coming years. 'So they want to maintain cordial relationship with us,' he said.