Congressman Howard Berman, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who has been a naysayer on the Indo-US nuclear deal, on Thursday introduced his own Bill on the agreement in the US House of Representatives, which was immediately rejected by the pro-India lobby as inimical to the agreement.

Click to read full text of Berman's Bill

Berman's bill is considered as good as a 'killer amendment' that he introduced two years ago during the debate that led to enacting of the Hyde Act or enabling legislation to facilitate the nuclear agreement and was considered to be totally unacceptable by the Indian government, which found objectionable parts in the Foreign Relations Committee bill too.

Briefing Republican and Democratic colleagues about the legislation, Berman said:

"I support peaceful nuclear cooperation with India, and in 2006 I voted for the Hyde Act, which established a framework for this cooperation. While I am under no illusion that India will give up its nuclear weapons, so long as the five recognized nuclear weapons states fail to make serious reductions in their arsenals, I believe it is a positive step to integrate India into the global non proliferation regime. 

"Having said that, I continue to have concerns about ambiguities in the nuclear cooperation agreement that the Bush Administration negotiated with the government of India, particularly with regard to the potential consequences if India tests another nuclear weapon, and to the legal status of so-called "fuel assurances" made by our negotiators. 

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"I am also deeply troubled that the Administration completely disregarded important non proliferation requirements in the Hyde Act -- thus putting American companies at a competitive disadvantage -- when seeking a special exemption for India at the Nuclear Suppliers Group.  

"This India legislation includes a number of provisions designed to improve Congressional oversight of the India nuclear cooperation agreement and help ensure that the agreement is interpreted in a manner consistent with the constraints in the Hyde Act. I will therefore vote in support of this Agreement."