04-12-2006, 09:52 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>BJP turns against N-deal </b>
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New Delhi, April 11: Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has personally initiated a rethink in BJP policy on the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement, with a decision now being taken to pressure the Manmohan Singh government to withdraw from the nuclear deal in its present form.
<b>A meeting at Mr Vajpayeeâs residence, attended by former external affairs ministers Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha as well as former national security adviser Brajesh Mishra, discussed the developments and agreed that the constant changes being introduced into the initial agreement were simply not acceptable.</b>
Former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani and BJP president Rajnath Singh could not attend the meeting as they are out on their respective yatras. However, Mr Rajnath Singh made it clear in Ranchi on Monday that the BJP was no longer inclined to extend even nominal support for the agreement, maintaining that the Centre should withdraw from the agreement with the United States as the pact would cripple Indiaâs nuclear capabilities.
<b>The BJP is now expected to strategise its opposition to the nuclear agreement and take it up in the forthcoming session of Parliament. Former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha told this correspondent that the party was very concerned about âthe manner in which the agreement is being changed every day.â </b>
He said that any ambiguity about the BJP position had been cleared after the recent statement by <b>Mr Vajpayee, where he had said that the concessions being given by the government to US demands would eventually ensure that âthe course of action of the Government of India, in future, will be determined not by laws passed by the Parliament of India or by international covenants to which we are party, but by the laws framed by the US Congress.â</b>
The BJP will also now be opposing the agreement from the national security point of view, with statements by US officials about Indiaâs minimum nuclear deterrent striking new notes of alarm. Mr Rajnath Singh also stated, in what is clearly building up into a new offensive against the nuclear agreement:<b> âIndia being a sovereign state has the right to decide as to what kind of nuclear deterrent New Delhi needs in respect of international security perceptions. </b>
Since India has already faced four attacks from Pakistan and one from China in the past it is all the more necessary to keep New Delhiâs deterrent capabilities updated<b>.â He said that India was at present free to conduct nuclear tests as and when it felt necessary as it was not a signatory to either the CTBT or the NPT. âBut the Indo-US nuclear deal will cripple Indiaâs nuclear capabilities,â</b> he said.
There is a great deal of disquiet in Indiaâs political establishment, including sections of the Congress Party, about the manner in which the nuclear agreement is being negotiated by the government with the United States. Sources said that even those supporting good and stronger relations with Washington were now worried about the manner in which the US was being able to influence the government to concede new demands.
The BJP president went so far as to say:<b> âThis treaty is complicated and intriguing as it will require the country to act in accordance with US wishes while addressing security needs.â</b>
The government is worried about opposition from the BJP, as it could now be totally isolated in its support for the nuclear deal. A strong pitch is being made to counter allegations of new conditionalities having been accepted by the government, with foreign secretary Shyam Saran being directed to give interviews to the media.
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, in the government assessment here, was able to ride over some of the objections of US legislators to the agreement. <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>But her sales pitch in Washington has created unease here, with the BJP withdrawing its conditional support for the deal to what will now be open opposition. </span>
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Â
New Delhi, April 11: Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has personally initiated a rethink in BJP policy on the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement, with a decision now being taken to pressure the Manmohan Singh government to withdraw from the nuclear deal in its present form.
<b>A meeting at Mr Vajpayeeâs residence, attended by former external affairs ministers Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha as well as former national security adviser Brajesh Mishra, discussed the developments and agreed that the constant changes being introduced into the initial agreement were simply not acceptable.</b>
Former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani and BJP president Rajnath Singh could not attend the meeting as they are out on their respective yatras. However, Mr Rajnath Singh made it clear in Ranchi on Monday that the BJP was no longer inclined to extend even nominal support for the agreement, maintaining that the Centre should withdraw from the agreement with the United States as the pact would cripple Indiaâs nuclear capabilities.
<b>The BJP is now expected to strategise its opposition to the nuclear agreement and take it up in the forthcoming session of Parliament. Former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha told this correspondent that the party was very concerned about âthe manner in which the agreement is being changed every day.â </b>
He said that any ambiguity about the BJP position had been cleared after the recent statement by <b>Mr Vajpayee, where he had said that the concessions being given by the government to US demands would eventually ensure that âthe course of action of the Government of India, in future, will be determined not by laws passed by the Parliament of India or by international covenants to which we are party, but by the laws framed by the US Congress.â</b>
The BJP will also now be opposing the agreement from the national security point of view, with statements by US officials about Indiaâs minimum nuclear deterrent striking new notes of alarm. Mr Rajnath Singh also stated, in what is clearly building up into a new offensive against the nuclear agreement:<b> âIndia being a sovereign state has the right to decide as to what kind of nuclear deterrent New Delhi needs in respect of international security perceptions. </b>
Since India has already faced four attacks from Pakistan and one from China in the past it is all the more necessary to keep New Delhiâs deterrent capabilities updated<b>.â He said that India was at present free to conduct nuclear tests as and when it felt necessary as it was not a signatory to either the CTBT or the NPT. âBut the Indo-US nuclear deal will cripple Indiaâs nuclear capabilities,â</b> he said.
There is a great deal of disquiet in Indiaâs political establishment, including sections of the Congress Party, about the manner in which the nuclear agreement is being negotiated by the government with the United States. Sources said that even those supporting good and stronger relations with Washington were now worried about the manner in which the US was being able to influence the government to concede new demands.
The BJP president went so far as to say:<b> âThis treaty is complicated and intriguing as it will require the country to act in accordance with US wishes while addressing security needs.â</b>
The government is worried about opposition from the BJP, as it could now be totally isolated in its support for the nuclear deal. A strong pitch is being made to counter allegations of new conditionalities having been accepted by the government, with foreign secretary Shyam Saran being directed to give interviews to the media.
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, in the government assessment here, was able to ride over some of the objections of US legislators to the agreement. <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>But her sales pitch in Washington has created unease here, with the BJP withdrawing its conditional support for the deal to what will now be open opposition. </span>
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