UPA trying to cover up failure by hurrying on nuke issue:BJP

Hyderabad, July 14 (UNI) Former BJP President M Venkaiah Naidu today claimed the Congress-led UPA Government was bent upon ''hurriedly'' going before the International Atomic Energy Agency for approval of the draft safeguards agreement only to ''cover up its alleged failures on all fronts, including price rise, terrorism and agrarian crisis.'' Addressing a press conference here, he said despite the scientific community being divided over the benefits of the Indo-US Nuclear Deal, the UPA Government was keen on it.

He maintained the government should not go to Vienna before proving its majority in Parliament.

''While the Presidential Elections in the USA are on, the polls are round the corner in India too. It will be appropriate to leave the issue for future governments,'' he stated.

''We will thwart the government's strategy to project the nuclear issue as the sole issue concerning the nation by cornering the ''anti-people'' government on various issues, including food and fertiliser shortage, during the trust vote debate,'' he added.

Dismissing as ''absurd'' the government's argument that it would take back the draft agreement from IAEA if it failed on the floor test, he likened this to ''two young lovers saying they will marry now and will divorce if the parents don't agree.'' Why did the Manmohan Singh Government did not show the same urgency in getting the bills passed to provide reservation for women and create new Telangana state,? the BJP Leader asked, claiming the country's future was in jeopardy.

The Prime Minister himself had earlier stated the heavens would not fall if the deal was not clinched, he pointed out.

Nuclear scientists, including Former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman P K Iyengar, had cautioned against rushing through the safeguards agreement, Mr Naidu said.

While Former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee took the bold decision to conduct nuclear tests, the present Prime Minister was keen on meekly giving away India's right to conduct nuclear test to the USA, he alleged.

The trust vote was an ''agni pariksha'' for parties like the All India Majilis-E-Itihadul Muslimeen and Indian Union Muslim League which were opposed to the deal, he felt.

UNI SM VA GM RL AS1446