Asserting that the
Indo-US nuclear deal "fully protects" India's strategic needs, Congress President Sonia Gandhi called on her party leaders to debunk the "false propaganda" being spread by the Bharatiya Janata Party, Left and other political opponents.
Congratulating Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his "leadership and sustained efforts", she said "the success of negotiations (at the NSG and IAEA) is a clear vindication of his conviction, which I share, that this agreement fully protects our strategic requirements and is in the best interests of our nation and the people."
Addressing the Congress working committee meeting in New Delhi, Gandhi said it was "imperative for us to debunk the false propaganda being spread by the BJP,
the Left parties and other political opponents."
Maintaining that the country would benefit from the renewed international cooperation that the nuclear deal would unleash, Gandhi asserted "the world will also gain from our enhanced expertise." Noting that there were economic, technological and political dimensions to the Indo-US agreement, she said in terms of economics, "our power generating capacity will increase very substantially. From a technology perspective, it will propel us to the forefront of research and development. Politically, the special status of India and its capabilities in the nuclear field have finally been recognised by the world."
She also thanked party colleagues and UPA allies for working hard and standing with the government when the Left parties withdrew support on the deal.