PMO should stop 'whisper campaign' on nuclear differences: BJP

New Delhi, Jul 15 (UNI) Asserting that its opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal was dictated by national interest alone, the BJP today asked the Prime Minister's Office to ask the tottering UPA Government to stop the 'whisper campaign' that Leader of Opposition L K Advani had conceded to the Prime Minister that he could not carry his partymen to support the deal.

BJP spokesman Ravishankar Prasad clarified that the BJP's opposition to the deal in its present form was right from the first day simply because the UPA coalition had accepted a nuclear policy that was not in nation's interest.

The apprehensions expressed by the BJP had not been fully addressed and the Prime Minister was yet to clarify what would happen to India if it were to conduct Pokhran III under the Hyde Act. The PMO should not be a place for resolving corporate wars and corporate interests, he said.

Mr Prasad said after Prime Minister wrote a letter to his predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee in December 2007 seeking his intervention in the nuclear deal, BJP leaders comprising Mr Advani, Jaswant Sinha, Mr Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and former National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra had met to consider his letter in detail and came to the conclusion that it could not be accepted as it compromised with the national interest.

On Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh taking exception to Mr Advani's comments that the UPA was now forced to adopt 'dalal salam' instead of 'Lal Salam' after the withdrawal of support by the Left, Mr Prasad said the BJP would not want to enter into a slanging match with Mr Amar Singh.

Pointing to Mr Singh's earlier comments on UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, he said, they are being replayed even these days by the TV channels.

The SP leader now claims that his party changed its views in the national interest whereas his party was in the forefront to oppose Indo-US nuclear deal going to the extent of even burning the effigy of US President George Bush in several parts of the country including Lucknow and Mumbai when the latter was on India visit two years ago.

Mr Bush could not even visit the Taj Mahal because of protests, he recollected.

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