Opening 90 per cent N-reactors an 'unwise step' : BJP

New Delhi, Jan 29 (UNI) Accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of 'confusing' the people about the need for concluding the Indo-US nuclear deal, the BJP today said opening 14 of the 22 nuclear reactors for international inspection was not a wise move and it would endanger national security.

Giving a detailed analysis of the nuclear scenario in the world and the BJP's opposition for India to sign the nuclear deal at the BJP National Council meeting, former Union Minister Arun Shourie said the United States was speaking openly about its intentions of signing the deal. They wanted to 'stop, rollback and eliminate India's nuclear capacities as told to the US law making bodies.

The nuclear club members US, France, UK and China had altogether had kept open only five of their 107 civilian nuclear installations for international inspection whereas through the deal the US was expecting India to open up 90 per cent of its nuclear facilities for intense scrutiny by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

''When the nuclear club members don't allow their sites for inspection why should India do it?'' Mr Shourie asked. India can't allow such a move especially when China had built up its nuclear weapons capacity since 1960s and many of its pile up was in Tibet, the upper reaches of India and a missle would require less than five minutes to reach Indian territories, he said.

He said the BJP opposed the deal because it went against Indian interests and the deal, if signed, would allow the intense inspection of nuclear sites in the country and the US can take back the nuclear fuel and equipments supplied if India conducted any nuclear test. India will have to report to the US President all the details nuclear installations.

Accusing the Prime Minister of taking helplessness to new heights, Mr Shourie said he wanted signing of the deal for more power and as if India did not have enough nuclear fuel whereas the fact was that India had enough material in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya and Jharkhand for making 27,000 explosions.

Mr Shourie said India should work on accelerating Fast Breeder Reactors as they produced more nuclear fuel than they consumed thus enhancing the security leverage for the country.

He said India can have good relations with the United States and should never accept the view that the relationship between the two countries would suffer if the deal was not signed and gave the example of BJP's Prime Ministerial nominee L K Advani telling former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger how during the NDA regime India had very good ties with the US despite pursuing independent nuclear policy and Pokhran II tests braving sanctions when NDA demitted office after six years.

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