Determined to introduce the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill in the Lok Sabha in the second half of the Budget Session of Parliament commencing from April 12, the UPA government has decided to make yet another attempt to build a political consensus on the issue.

During the recess period, National Security Advisor Shivshanker Menon and Atomic Energy Commission chairman Srikumar Banerjee will brief the BJP and Left leaders separately to dispel “misconceptions” about the Bill, government sources said. They are likely to meet Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj of the BJP and Sitaram Yechury of the CPM, said the sources.

The government had deferred introduction of the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday in the face of fierce opposition from the BJP and the Left. The government does not want the Bill to be referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy, headed by SP’s Mulayam Singh Yadav, as it could cause undue delay in carrying out nuclear commerce with international power producing companies.

(News Agency)