BJP slams Indo-US nuke deal

Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh has rejected the Indo-US nuclear deal, describing it as an assault on the countrys nuclear sovereignty.

Bhubaneswar (Orissa), Aug 6 : Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh has rejected the Indo-US nuclear deal, describing it as an assault on the country's nuclear sovereignty.

"BJP wants to caution the UPA Government to ensure that India's independent nuclear weapons policy and sovereignty is protected at all costs," Singh said.

Singh said the UPA Government had acceded to the provisions of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), without actually signing the treaty.

"BJP wants a clarification from the Congress-led UPA Government that it is not correct that the Atomic Energy Act 54 and Hyde Act will override the 123 Agreement," Rajnath said.

He urged Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's Government to set up a parliamentary panel to secure parliament's approval before the formal signing of the pact, though it was not required by law.

The BJP and the Left said the UPA has failed to take into account its concerns.

The agreement, when finally approved by the U.S. Congress, will end India's global nuclear isolation and allow it to buy nuclear fuel and equipment from the United States and eventually other nations to help meet its soaring energy needs.

Details of a bilateral pact that forms a crucial element of the deal were disclosed last Friday.Ever since the deal was agreed to in principle two years ago, its opponents in India have charged the government of compromising on its nuclear weapons program, mortgaging its right to conduct nuclear tests, and accepting stringent American conditions on civilian nuclear cooperation.

However, after the pact was finalized last month, top government officials said all Indian concerns had been addressed satisfactorily and nuclear scientists and analysts largely seemed to agree with the contents of the text after it was made public.

ANI