Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Saturday alleged that the Modi government had removed key provisions of an important nuclear Act within its recently passed nuclear Bill just to restore relations with US President Donald Trump.
He claimed that the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, 2025 (SHANTI Bill) was "bulldozed" through both houses of Parliament on Thursday, flagging concerns at the removal of key provisions under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 (CLNDA 2010).
The Congress MP also questioned the timing of the SHANTI Bill's passage, noting that it coincided with US President Donald Trump recently signing the National Defence Authorization Act (FY26).
He pointed out that the 3,100-page Act had a reference to a joint India-US assessment on nuclear liability rules.
"Now we know for sure why the Prime Minister bulldozed the SHANTI Bill through Parliament ... It was to restore SHANTI with his once good friend. The SHANTI Act may well be called the TRUMP Act - The Reactor Use and Management Promise Act," he said in an X post.
His post also included a photo of that section of the US nuclear legislation, which would redefine India-US nuclear ties, and planned to "discuss opportunities for the Republic of India to align domestic nuclear liability rules with international norms".
The US nuclear legislation also expressed an intent to "develop a strategy for the United States and the Republic of India to pursue bilateral and multilateral diplomatic engagements related to analysing and implementing those opportunities".
The SHANTI Bill proposed that licences be granted to private companies to operate nuclear power plants in India—a major change to India's civil nuclear ecosystem.
One of the major provisions of CLNDA 2010 that the SHANTI Bill has removed is a nuclear power plant operator's 'right of recourse' from suppliers if their equipment was found to be responsible for an accident.