NDA seeks Kalam's intervention on nuclear deal, says PM hid truth

New Delhi, Aug 11 (UNI) 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.

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