NEW DELHI: The finalization of ‘Major Defence Partner’ designation to India by the US raises serious apprehensions about NDA government compromising country’s sovereignty and strategic autonomy and it has been done without taking the parliament into confidence, CPI(M) said Tuesday.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the deal will make country’s defence forces open to American scrutiny and its defence production under the control of US.
He said that while the US government has placed the details of the ‘Major Defence Partner’ designation for approval of the US senate as part of FY 2017 National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA), central government has not even made a statement in the parliament about such a significant deal.
“I would like to draw your attention to Paragraph (E) of Sec. 1292 of 2017 NDAA, which talks of mechanism to verify the security of defence articles, defence services, and related technology, such as appropriate cyber security and end user monitoring agreements for items and technologies sold to India,” said Yechury.
"These are significant concessions made by your government which will make Indian defence forces open to American scrutiny, and Indian defence production under the control of the United States of America," he added.
Alleging that Modi government is compromising country’s sovereignty and strategic autonomy, Yechury said that Paragraph (I) explicitly highlights enhanced defence and security cooperation with India in order to advance United States interests in South Asia and greater Indo-Asia-Pacific regions.
“This is, sadly, a commitment by your government to become a junior ally of the US in our own neighbourhood. This represents the final nail in the coffin of India’s independent foreign policy,” he said.
Blaming the government of ignoring the parliament, he further said that the announcement in this regard was made by the defence ministry when both the house of parliament, and still are, in session.
“This is complete contravention of the established norms and practices of our parliamentary system. I am further constrained to state that your government seems particularly keen on ignoring the parliament. It needs no reminder that the parliament represents the people of this great country and by choosing to willfully ignore parliament, your are disrespecting 1,3 billions Indians,” he added.