Speaking at the 176th annual general meeting of the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce, Mukherjee said: “Those who argue that thermal power is enough for us are wrong.” Without naming the Left, he said: “Computerisation too was resisted in the same manner in the Seventies and Eighties.”

India’s total power generation capacity, he said, has to increase. Pointing to environmental hazards that the country would face if emission levels were not contained, Mukherjee said: “We have to address the problem to protect the environment for the survival of a billion plus population. Therefore, clean energy is needed.”

“We are a member of the planet. We are not living in isolation. If we do not fall in line tomorrow, there may be sanctions and problems. We have to think what type of climate we are giving our next generation,” he said. India and the IAEA, he said, were yet to find common ground on the draft safeguards agreement which is necessary to operationalise the civil nuclear deal with the US and discussions were still on.

“We want the IAEA to make India-specific safeguards. Politically we have made arrangements with our Left supporters that after the text of the agreement is finalised, a coordination committee meeting would be held to go over the text before we sign it. Only then will we proceed further,” he said.