Protests make govt backtrack on nuke bill

The Parliamentary panel examining the nuclear liability bill on Wednesday decided to seek an extension for submitting its report on the controversial legislation.

The decision to seek an extension came after top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders including L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley had a meeting with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

"The committee cannot hustle through the proceedings," said BJP leader Jaswant Singh.

T Subbirami Reddy, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and is understood to have discussed the progress made by the panel on the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010.

Dr Singh is understood to have asked Reddy to sort out the issues with the BJP and submit its report. The committee is now expected to submit its report to Parliament on August 18. 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reportedly met two senior leaders of Opposition parties and decided to delay the tabling of the Bill.

The Standing Committee on Environment and Energy has also discussed the Bill briefly

The BJP and the Left parties have opposed the Bill in its present form and demanded a change in various clauses.