Click to play videoNew Delhi: A day after a secret letter from the United States of America's State Department revealed how it plans to terminate the Indo-US nuclear deal if India conducts a nuclear test, the BJP has slammed the UPA Government for 'misleading' the country.
BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has asked for a Parliament session to be called immediately to move breach of privilege motion against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for "misleading" the two Houses on the nuclear deal.
“BJP demands that there should be a session of Parliament within the shortest possible time. Call a session after giving a notice of one week so that we are enabled to move a breach of privilege notice against the Prime Minister and his government,” Sinha said while addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday.
Sinha also demanded that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government quit immediately on the nuclear deal issue.
“We demand that this government has no business to continue in office and that they should leave immediately. If they do so then there is no need of a Parliament session but if they don't do so then a parliament session should be immediately called for because this is a very, very serious issue. This is no ordinary communication. This is a communication from the responsible official of the Bush administration to the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. We cannot ignore the US Congress in any matter. It will be a fatal mistake on our part to ignore the views and the opinion of the US congress because ultimately what will prevail is the view of the Congress and not the view of the administration,” he said.
The BJP also charged Manmohan Singh of misleading the nation and for not presenting all the details of the nuclear deal before the nation.
“This document says the 123 Agreement is rooted in the Hyde Act. It derives itself from the Hyde Act and it is in complete conformity with the Hyde Act. So Hyde Act is not only relevant but it is binding on the 123 Agreement. If it is binding on the 123 Agreement then it is binding on us. India cannot escape the rigours of the Hyde Act,” Sinha explained.
The BJP leader, who held the portfolios of the Finance Ministry and the External Affaisr Ministry in the National Democratic Alliance Government, also said, “This letter was written nine months ago to Tom Lantos who was the Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives. In February he died and then Howard Berman become the Chairperson. Some months back Bush administration has asked the US Congress not to make public any correspondence between India and US related to the nuclear deal.”
“At the time we smelt that something was wrong. Now it is clear that the Bush administration wanted to keep this letter confidential. If this 26-page letter had been made public before July 26, 2008 (the day of the trust vote) then the Manmohan Singh Government would not have survived. We have serious objections to this as it is not the role of the US to save a government in India or to make sure that it falls. This is India's internal matter. This letter should have been made public in a transparent way,” he added.
The Left, too, is slamming the Manmohan Singh Government, saying it has gone back on its promise.
“The letter clearly shows that this act is deeply in accordance with the Hyde Act and the Manmohan Singh Government has clearly practiced a deceit on the people. This deal will clearly compromise with the Indian sovereign autonomy and will sacrifice the sovereignty of the nation," Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Politburo member Brinda Karat said.
CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat said, "This government is cheating the people of India on the nuclear deal issue. We knew this three months back."
The State Department letter has confirmed that if India tested a nuclear device all nuclear trade with New Delhi would be immediately terminated.
The nine-month old letter was published in the Washington Post on Wednesday and was made public by influential Congressman and Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman.
The letter covers 45 highly technical questions and was never made public apparently because it could have toppled the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government.
Berman has released State Department's answers to 45 questions on the deal, which indicate clearly differing perceptions on key issues between New Delhi and Washington.
The questions were submitted to the State Department by Lantos in October 2007 and answers were sent on January 16, 2008.
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