NDA seeks Kalam's intervention on nuclear deal

New Delhi, Aug 11: Accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of keeping the nation and Parliament in the dark on the true implications of the Indo-US nuclear deal, the National Democratic Alliance today sought President APJ Abdul Kalam's intervention urging him to see that the accord did not bind the country to conditions detrimental to its national security.

An NDA delegation led by former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani called on the President this evening at the Rashtrapati Bhawan and demanded that the UPA government bring in a 'Sense of Parlaiment Resolution' clarifying for once and all its stand on nuclear cooperation with the United States.

Briefing mediapersons after their meeting, Mr Advani said that in the memo, the NDA has sought to point out to the President that recent legislation, passed by the US Congress, attached a string of crippling conditionalities on India and went far beyond the basic terms of the July 18, 2005 declaration on the Nuclear Deal, ''which itself was not acceptable to us.'' He said they had submitted to the President the copies of the US Congress Bills, 'though he knows about it all'', and he had assured them that he will go through them and take up the matter with the government.

''After the passage of the two Bills by the House of Representatives and the Senate, our worst fears have come true, as crippling conditionalities have been imposed on India,'' said Mr Adavni.

Later, former External Affairs minister Yashwant Sinha, who was also part of the delegation, said that the NDA has been telling the Prime Minister from the beginning that there was a great difference in his interpretation of the civil nuclear cooperation accord as given in Parliament and that of the US administration.

Mr Sinha said that they have demanded that the civil nuclear cooperation should give India the same rights as the other non-weapon states have and the International Atomic Agency(IAEA) inspection of the civil nuclear facilities be allowed only so long as the deal lasted. Further, India will accept international inspections on its civil facilities or anyother binding obligation only after all restrictions on the country have been lifted.

''We also demanded that there should be a permanent waiver of relevant US domestic laws without annual review and certification, and there should be complete freedom to India's strategic and foreign policy options and its right to terminate the agreement on national security grounds,'' he said.

''If these parameters are not met with, this deal will be wholly biased against our short and long term national interest, it will be asymetrical and totally detrimental to India's scientific eandeavours and interest. The Government must not proceed any further with such conditions and parameteres, It must accept ''The Sense of Our Parliament,'' said Mr Sinha quoting from the text of the memorandum to the President.

Besides, Mr Advani and Mr Sinha, others were in delegation included Janata Dal (United) leader George Fernanades, senior BJP leaders Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Mrs Sushma Swaraj, Mr Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Mr Anant Kumar, Mr SS Ahluwalia and Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Mr BK Tripathi of the BJD and Mr Anant Geethe of the Shiv Sena.

UNI

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