MEA says report on TN N-plant ‘baseless’

Rubbishing a recent media report “falsely linking” India’s ongoing discussions with Russia on Kudankulam to India’s NSG membership and terming it as “completely baseless, incorrect and mischievous”, the MEA on Friday said India’s discussions on units five and six of the Kudankulam nuclear plant are at the stage of “internal approval”. This comes ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s forthcoming visit to Russia in the beginning of June this year.

In an official statement on its website, the MEA said, “In response to a query regarding a media report falsely linking India’s ongoing discussions with Russia on Kudankulam to India’s NSG membership, the official spokesp-erson said: The report is completely baseless, incorrect and mischievous. Discussions have been held on Kudankulam document. The process is at the stage of internal approval.”

The General Framework Agreement (GFA) for units 5 and 6 of the plant in Tamil Nadu has already been cleared by an interministerial group and is awaiting a nod from the PMO, government sources were, meanwhile, quoted by agencies as saying.

According to news reports, an October 2015 joint statement after a meeting between PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the two sides “reaffirmed” their intention to conclude the GFA and the Credit Protocol for Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant units 5 and 6 by the end of 2016.