Nuke deal is an attack on sovereignty: BJP

Guwahati, Aug 26 (UNI) Amid the din between the Congress and the Left on the controversial nuclear deal with the US, the BJP today stepped up its offensive against the deal claiming that the deal was an attack on the sovereignty of the country.

''The nuclear deal with the US is a direct attack on the sovereignty of the country. It can never be acceptable to the BJP,'' Bharatiya Janata Mahila Morcha national president Kiran Maheswari said.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Assam executive committee meeting of the BJP's women wing, Mrs Maheswari described the deal as 'unfortunate'.

She said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is virtually selling the country to the superpower.

''Clause IX of the deal clearly states that India cannot conduct any nuclear test without the prior permission of the US. This can never be acceptable,'' she adding.

Echoing tunes of the Left, the BJP vowed not to allow the Centre to go ahead with the deal.

The BJP leader's statement comes in the backdrop of growing pressure on the UPA for not going ahead with the deal. The Left, one of UPA government's vital allies, has already thrown the ball in the Congress court saying that the government should not operationalise the deal failing which it would face 'serious consequences'.

UNI