Uranium Deal Debate: Congress Points to 2011 Approval as BJP Credits Modi
New Delhi, July 10: A political dispute has erupted over who deserves credit for Australia's uranium sales to India, with the Congress party challenging the Bharatiya Janata Party's claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi achieved a breakthrough.
On Friday, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh stated that the approval to sell uranium to India was granted by the Australian Labor Party in December 2011, following the India-U.S. Nuclear Agreement of October 2008. He shared a screenshot of media reports from that period to support his claim.
The exchange began when BJP IT department head Amit Malviya posted on social media that in 2010, Australia refused to sell uranium to India due to its non-signatory status to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). He asserted that under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, India and Australia have now struck a uranium export agreement, reflecting India's transformed global standing.
Ramesh countered, saying, "The BJP ecosystem is on an overdrive to show that Australia's uranium sales to India are a Modi breakthrough. On December 4, 2011, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard got approval of her party to sell uranium to India following the India-US Nuclear Agreement of Oct 2008." He added that BJP critics, including some MPs, need to do their homework better.
The debate comes after a significant bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on July 9. The two leaders sealed several pacts, including one on civil nuclear energy, maritime security, and critical minerals. The nuclear pact allows commercial supply of uranium from Australia to India for nuclear power projects.
In a related post on July 9, Ramesh had remarked that the Congress creates turning points while the BJP specialises in "U-turning points." He argued that the nuclear pact was possible only because of the U.S.-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement that became law on October 8, 2008, which the BJP had opposed.
The joint declaration also included a defence and security partnership, an energy ties statement, and a roadmap for collaboration in cyber, critical technologies, and supply chains.
