Nuke deal will 'take away' India's sovereignty: BJP

Bangalore, July 18 (UNI) BJP National Spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy today said the Indo-US nuclear deal in the present form was not acceptable to the BJP as it ''took away'' the country's sovereignty.

Mr Rudy told reporters here that ''the deal is a surrender in perpetuity to the US hegemony and would seriously affect India's nuclear programmes, including the third Pokhran programme.

''It is a ploy of the US in the garb of meeting the energy needs of the country to bring its control over India,'' he alleged.

Stating that it was totally unacceptable to the BJP as China had already stabilised its 60 nuclear sites besides Pakistan, he said India needed a strong nuclear programme and the BJP would not compromise on the issue.

The UPA Government at the Centre was in an ''intensive care unit'' and would surely lose the vote of confidence on July 22, he claimed.

The BJP was ready to go to the people, seeking mandate to run the country with L K Advani as the Prime Minister.

Mr Rudy also criticised the UPA Government for ''failing'' to bring down the inflation rate and ''leaving common man in lurch'' with the ever-increasing essential commodity prices.

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