Congress Says SHANTI Bill 'Bulldozed' In Parliament For Trump And Adani

The Congress on Saturday targeted the Modi government over the passage of the SHANTI Bill, alleging that it was “bulldozed” through Parliament not only for “TRUMP but also for ADANI”.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh shared a screenshot of a media report on X, which claimed that the Adani Group is planning a foray into nuclear energy after private companies were allowed to enter the sector.

Parliament on Thursday cleared the nuclear energy Bill, with the Rajya Sabha approving the legislation that seeks to open the tightly regulated civil nuclear sector to private participation.

"SHANTI was bulldozed through in Parliament not only for TRUMP (The Reactor Use Management Programme) but also for ADANI (Accelerated Damaging Adhiniyam for Nuclear India)," Ramesh alleged.

The Congress claimed that the SHANTI Bill was rushed through Parliament solely to help Prime Minister Narendra Modi restore “SHANTI” with his “once good friend”.

Ramesh said the SHANTI Bill removes key provisions of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, an issue flagged in the United States’ National Defence Authorisation Act for 2026.

Noting that US President Donald Trump recently signed the National Defence Authorisation Act for the US fiscal year 2026, Ramesh said in a post on X, "The Act is 3,100 pages long. Page 1,912 has a reference to the joint assessment between the United States and India on Nuclear Liability Rules.

“Now we know for sure why the Prime Minister bulldozed the SHANTI Bill through Parliament earlier this week that, among other things, did away with key provisions of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, that had been passed unanimously by Parliament.” “It was to restore SHANTI with his once good friend," the Congress leader said, attaching a copy of the US law to his post.

Ramesh also claimed that the SHANTI Act could well be termed the TRUMP Act — The Reactor Use and Management Promise Act.

Speaking on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Ramesh urged the government not to promote private players at the cost of the public sector in building nuclear power infrastructure, and called for encouraging indigenous technology to expand the country’s energy capacity.

He argued that private companies cannot become the growth engine of the nuclear sector as they cannot replace the role of public sector undertakings.

The Rajya Sabha passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill by a voice vote, rejecting opposition amendments seeking to refer it to a parliamentary committee.

The Bill had been cleared by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Replying to the debate, Minister of State for Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh said the legislation aims to make India self-reliant in nuclear energy and reduce dependence on other sources.