BJP wants parliamentary ratification made compulsory for international pacts

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday demanded a legislation to make parliamentary sanction mandatory for international agreements such as the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

New Delhi, Aug 17 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday demanded a legislation to make parliamentary sanction mandatory for international agreements such as the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

"The government should seriously consider enacting a law to make it obligatory that if there is an international agreement, which impinges on our sovereignty, national security or territorial integrity, it must be ratified by both Houses of Parliament," said BJP leader L K Advani in Lok Sabha.

Earlier today, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee rejected BJP's demand for discussion of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal under Rule 184 of the Parliament that entails voting.

Rejecting the BJP's demand Chatterjee said: "There has been no occasion where any treaty or agreement (with a foreign country) was ever discussed under Rule 184," adding that the Parliament has "no competence" to decide on operationalisation of an agreement signed with a foreign country.

The opposition intensified its attack on the government on Thursday after media reported that a senior US official had said the deal would be terminated if India were to conduct a nuclear test.

Opposition and Left leaders shouted slogans, accusing the government of misleading the country, even as External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee assured the House that the deal retained sovereignty of India's nuclear programme.

On Friday, Mukherjee assured that the US law, the Hyde Act that gets precedence over the 123 Agreement, did not override it in entirety.

"Some of the provisions of the Hyde Act are advisory and it cannot affect the constitutional right of the executive branch of the United States of (America)," he said.

Differences over the deal have strained relations between the government and its Left allies, a section of whom have talked of withdrawing their crucial support to the government.

A senior leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI) accused the government of buckling down under a sense of obligation to the US, in view of the deal.

Senior CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said: "Yesterday... he (External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee) said a question has been raised. Who has raised the question, unnamed person? Why this reluctance on part of Mr Mukherjee. Is it a case of reluctance or is there a sense of fear, that America should not be antagonized because we have entered into a deal?"

The Left parties are holding weekend deliberations in Delhi in wake of their stand-off with the UPA Government over the deal.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi sought an apology from National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Convener George Fernandes for a statement in which he said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would have been shot dead for 'bluffing' the nation over the deal, had he been the Chinese head of government.

"Such kind of incitement to the people, provocation of the people to the Prime Minister of India by a leader of the opposition NDA, the convener, we strongly condemn... either he should apologise or withdraw the statement," Dasmunsi said.

Singh is seen as the driving force behind the deal right from its inception. He has said the deal is crucial for India's development, and has batted for it despite strong opposition from several fronts.

ANI