Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement that India will ratify the Paris Agreement on Climate Change shows New Delhi is supplicant to "US global strategic interests", the CPI-M said on Tuesday.The decision "is both surprising and violative of the assurance that this BJP government had given to Parliament", the Communist Party of India-Marxist said in a statement."Soon after the Paris Summit, the Parliament was assured that India would not ratify the Paris Agreement until the national laws relating to environment, forests and energy are examined in the light of their capacity to implement the various provisions of the Paris Agreement," the CPI-M pointed out. "Parliament was assured that this BJP central government will not violate the 'red lines' drawn up by Parliament during the detailed discussion following the Copenhagen Summit."
The statement said that the the European Union and many other developed nations, which are much bigger source of carbon emissions than India, had not yet ratified this Paris Agreement. In June, the Indian Foreign Secretary said the process of examining India's national laws was underway and until that was completed, there was no question of ratifying this agreement. Likewise, the Niti Ayog head had said that India was not yet ready in terms of domestic actions and hence could not ratify the agreement now.
Modi's announcement "is a clear indication that India is becoming a supplicant of US global strategic interests and has committed this volte face surrendering to US pressure, bartering away India's much needed energy requirements", the CPI-M said.It said the decision was not in India's interests and its commitment to eradicate poverty and provide the required energy for improving the livelihood of the vast majority of Indians. "Having given earlier assurances to Parliament, the Modi government must subject this decision of ratification of the Paris Agreement to a parliamentary discussion and approval," it added.