IndiaPost.com - NOT OPPOSED TO N-DEAL: BJP

NEW DELHI: The BJP says it is not opposed to a nuclear agreement with the US but wanted the present deal to be redrafted so that there was no restriction on India carrying out atomic tests in future. "We do not basically oppose the nuclear agreement," senior party leader L K Advani said at an ASSOCHAM function here.

He said that the BJP was not against securing nuclear fuel from the United States but wanted "the 123 Agreement to be redrafted to insulate India from the Hyde Act". "Our reservation is only on the written word that there should not be any further nuclear tests," the former Deputy Prime Minister added. Advani said even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had not adhered to the promises made in Parliament regarding the deal.

"We had demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the deal. Instead, the government decided to form a coordination committee only with the Left parties," he said. On the SEZ policy, Advani said his party supported them as long as they were promoting exports. "They should not be for the betterment of a few people," he said. Scouting for allies Meanwhile, setting its sight on the next Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is embarking on an exercise to expand the NDA as it claims the alliance has an "obvious advantage" with the ruling UPA fast running out of "political steam".

The BJP hopes that its good showing in a series of Assembly elections, including in Karnataka and Gujarat, has surely positioned itself as the frontrunner for the Lok Sabha polls and this will attract more allies. "A strong BJP will certainly attract strong allies and a strong NDA should ready itself for the Lok Sabha elections," the political resolution adopted at the party's just-concluded National Executive said.

L K Advani, the party's Prime Ministerial face, also expressed similar views when he reminded the party that once it is seen as a "clear winner", it is bound to have a positive effect on the size and strength of the NDA. While party president Rajnath Singh gave indications about bringing back BJP's pet but contentious issues like Article 370 and Uniform Civil Code at the Executive, the resolution is silent on these matters. The three-page resolution made a scathing attack on the UPA government's policies and the leadership of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dubbing his political standing in the country as "negligible".

"The tenure of the UPA government at the Centre has been disastrous. The UPA is fast running out of political steam. It has lost every major election in the past two years," the resolution noted. It slammed the Government on issues like price rise, farmer suicides, internal security, foreign policy and claimed that the "momentum of economic growth that was achieved in the six years of NDA rule has now been lost." Observing that economic mismanagement has been the hallmark of UPA policies, it said "the UPA government has inflicted economic atrocities on the citizens of India by its failure to curb price rise and improve the condition of the Indian farmer. "It has seriously compromised India's internal security.

India's strategic position in the neighborhood has been adversely affected." The resolution also attacked the Left parties saying they have consistently attempted to influence governmental policy from within and supported the Government in Parliament but put on a facade of Opposition outside. Claiming that policy contradictions between UPA and the Left have paralyzed the government, it said all governments since 1991 made the economic reforms the art of the possible while this government has made the absence of any economic reform or decision making the art of its survival and longevity. "The Prime Minister and his economic managers firmly believe that the best way to avert a political controversy is by taking no decisions," it charged.

The resolution talks in detail about the internal security situation and alleged that the Government's "soft approach" towards terrorism has created an unenviable situation where the terrorist is ahead of security, intelligence and investigative agencies. It also ridiculed the Prime Minister for his "late realization" on the need for a federal investigating agency and reiterated the party's demand for re-introduction of POTA as existing provisions and procedures are inadequate to deal with terrorism.

"It is regrettable that the soft approach of the UPA towards terrorists is influenced by its belief that a soft approach consolidates vote banks and is therefore politically more beneficial," it said. With back to back Assembly election victories in its kitty, the resolution reflects the upbeat mood in the party and said the BJP-led NDA has an obvious advantage in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections.