New Delhi, April 25: NDA’s working chairman LK Advani on Sunday hit out at the Manmohan Singh Government for “its stubborn refusal to draw any lessons from Fukushima” and said it only “illustrates how Government has lost even its political bearings”.
Advani compared India’s reluctance to listen to concerns over nuclear plants with the steps taken by Germany, Russia, France and others countries after the nuclear disaster at Fukushima following a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami.
“…It is surprising to find Government spokesmen practically ridiculing everyone who voices reservations about rushing headlong into the direction of new nuclear energy plants,” Advani wrote in his blog on Sunday.
“If any environmentalist strikes a note of caution that the tragedy in Japan should not be disregarded, particularly in parts of the country which are known to be in a seismic zone, he invites sarcastic remarks from the Environment Minister that it is “paradoxical” that the environmentalists are against nuclear energy!” he added.
Ramesh had explained his stand on Jaitapur, where the proposed nuclear plant is facing stiff resistance from locals.
The Environment Minister had said he was trying to balance four objectives, namely; amount of energy required to sustain a growth rate of nine per cent; proportion of fuel mix; environmental concerns; and strategic diplomacy, specially after the Civilian Nuclear Deal.
Saying one can “understand and appreciate” the first three of these objectives, Advani asked, “But how does “strategic diplomacy” became an objective for the Environment Minister unless it is acknowledged that one of the objectives of signing this treaty even at the risk of losing UPA’s majority was to promote the commercial interests of US nuclear firms.”
Quoting Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk as saying, “Energy and energy diversification are very important things, but obviously the safety of citizens will be the most important factor”, Advani took a swipe at Jairam Ramesh asking was it not strange that this ‘most important’ factor of safety does not even figure in the parameters spelt out by the Environment Minister?
In his blog post, Advani launched a broadside against the Government on corruption and revisisted issues like cash-for-vote scandal during the 2008 Trust Vote and subsequent Wikileaks expose.
Advani wrote in his blog that the unending series of scams that were making the headlines these days, along with the continuing reprimands being administered by the Supreme Court, (the latest being about black money — “Is the Government sleeping?”) were forceful pointers to the Government’s loss of moral centre, or ethical deficit, as a Union Minister described it.
——–Agencies