Nuclear Thread - 3

[acharya]

Express News Service<b>

We’ll re-negotiate n-deal to India’s advantage: BJP
Suman K Jha </b>

New Delhi, June 21:With the embattled Manmohan Singh Government facing an indomitable opposition in the Left to sign the Indo-US nuclear deal, the BJP on Saturday said it would re-negotiate the deal with the new US administration if it is voted to power in the next elections.

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Arguing that it has an alternate plan up it sleeves, it has also questioned the Prime Minister’s leadership quotient, apart from the Congress’s ability to steer an alliance Government.

“Of course, we’ll re-negotiate the deal, making sure that the country’s nuclear sovereignty is not compromised,” BJP president Rajnath Singh told The Indian Express. The party thinks that “the cap on further nuclear tests enshrined in the Indo-US nuclear deal” compromises the country’s nuclear-power status. It is, however, okay with most other provisions of the deal.

The BJP has also seized the opportunity to highlight its “far more superior” coalition architecture and management. “We’ll have allies on board for talks (with the new US administration),” said the BJP president, alluding to the bickering in the ruling UPA alliance over the issue.

Taking a dig at the CPI general secretary A B Bardhan’s pronouncements on the issue, the BJP leader said the Communists were not concerned about the “objective conditions here”. The saffron party has contrasted the Left’s “pathological opposition to USA” with its own track record of scripting “a new era in the Indo-US strategic partnership”.

The apparent softening of the BJP’s stance on the deal has been evident for the past few weeks now. Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Whether to conclude or not to conclude the deal finally remains in the realm of the executive decision of the Government of India,” thus shifting the onus of the operationalisation of the deal on the ruling UPA alliance.

The BJP had initially cited the “overwhelming opinion in Parliament against the deal” while voicing its opposition to “the 123 nuclear deal in its present form”.

“We are not against good and friendly relations with USA,” said Prasad, dubbing the nuclear divide in the ruling alliance as a reflection of the Prime Minister “lacking the authority and decision making ability which is requited for such an exalted office”.

In the past few weeks, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani has spoken about the cap on further nuclear tests as the prime reason why the party cannot accept the deal. Other leaders like Narendra Modi had raised questions over the PM’s inability to take the alliance partners into confidence.

The BJP has also used the opportunity to draw an L K Advani vs Manmohan Singh contrast on the their leadership quotient. “You have not been able to govern. How long will the people continue to suffer and how long will India’s international image continue to suffer? Better quit,” said Prasad, in a scathing observation, alluding to the PM’s inability to convince the Left allies on the deal.

“Call it a course correction, rather than a shift. The party is not against the US. The party cannot accept a ban on further nuclear tests, but is fine with the deal otherwise. And the party is also aware of the middle class aspirations,” said a BJP leader. Senior leader Yashwant Sinha said he had no comments to offer. He was earlier vocal in articulating the party’s opposition to the deal “in its present form”.