'Selling N-deal on plank of energy is fallacious'

Jaipur, Sept 1: Senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh today alleged that UPA government has strayed from the path charted by the NDA in improving relations with the US and the nucelar deal which is being projected as a panacea for energy crisis is fallacious. A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stressed the importance of the nuclear deal with the US in meeting the growing energy needs of the country and to end the nuclear isolation, the senior BJP leader said in terms of the cost and benefit, the deal is not in favour of India.

Talking to media, he claimed that the country had to spend about 120 billion dollars as per the nuclear agreement and the energy produced from the nuclear feul is just about 3-4 per cent of the total energy requirement of the country.

He asked the government to disclose the total investment in producing nuclear energy and at the price at which power would be made avialbale to the people.

The former External Affairs Minister said ''under any circumstances we are not in favour of compromising with the security and sovereignty of the country and a third country deciding the issues concerning the security of the nation''.

Mr Singh was here for the release of a book,'Defining Momements' by former CBI director Rajendra Shekar.

UNI