Apprehending trouble from opposition, Government deferred introduction in Lok Sabha of nuclear liability bill which is a key step in operationalisation of the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal.

“I have a request from the Minister Prithviraj Chavan that government does not intend to introduce the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill today,” Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar announced in the House.

The bill was mentioned in the list of business for the day and the government’s decision sparked protests the opposition.

Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj demanded that sincethe matter was listed, a motion had to be moved for withdrawal of the Bill from the agenda.

The Speaker, however, rejected the demand saying that sucha motion cannot be moved as the bill has not been introducedin the House.

Accepting Speaker’s ruling, NDA working chairman L K Advani said the government should tell the House why it was not going ahead with introduction of the bill since it has been listed.

The government move came apparently in view of declarationby the Left parties and BJP that they would strongly opposethe proposed legislation.

The bill pegs the maximum amount of liability in case of each nuclear accident at Rs 300 crore to be paid by the operator of the nuclear plant.

However, the draft bill also has provisions that would enable the government to either increase or decrease the amount of liability of any operator.