Tripura CM urges Prime Minister to rethink on Indo-US nuclear deal

Agartala, Aug 15 (UNI) Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to retreat from the ongoing Indo-US nuclear deal for safeguarding India's interests.

Unfurling the national Tricolour in the Assam Rifles Auditorium here today, Mr Sarkar expressed concern over the Prime Minister's statement on the deal and criticised his ''adamant attitude'' on the issue.

''The deal would help the US dominate the third-world countries and India will not benefit from it in any way,'' Mr Sarkar asserted and requested the prime minister to reconsider the deal.

He alleged that the deal was tantamount to compromising the country's sovereignty. The Left Front had staged a peaceful march for reconsidering the deal, he added.

''We believe that the provisions of the agreement do not protect India's interests,'' Mr Sarkar claimed.

''The deal says that even for internal matters of the country, approval will have to be taken from the US. Americans will intervene in our affairs and our foreign policy and sovereignty will be endangered. We will not allow this to happen,'' he claimed.

Criticising the bilateral pact that forms a crucial element of the deal, Mr Sarkar alleged that the Centre was compromising its nuclear weapons programme, mortgaging its right to conduct nuclear tests and accepting the US's conditions on civilian nuclear cooperation.

UNI