Government may dump n-deal: Advani

Dec 14, 2007, 8:06 GMT

Ahmedabad, Dec 14 (IANS) The Manmohan Singh government could altogether dump the India-US nuclear deal due to the pressure from its Left allies, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani said here Friday.

'I will not be surprised if they dump the deal or say that we will not go further with it,' he told reporters here.

'The Left parties supporting the government from outside have issued a fresh ultimatum, which is more categorical than ever before. If Prime Minister Manmohan Singh defies the threat and if the Left parties indeed carry it out, then mid-term elections to the Lok Sabha in early 2008 are certain,' said Advani, who was here to campaign for the BJP ahead of the second round of the Gujarat assembly elections Sunday.

He said, 'the allies of the Congress in the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) have indicated that they do not want early elections', leaving little choice for the government but to drop the nuclear deal.

'Manmohan Singh has already proved to be the weakest ever Indian prime minister. If he chooses to heed the Left's threat, he will surely invite a serious credibility crisis upon himself. Either way, the path is downhill for his government.'

Responding to Manmohan Singh's comment here this week that the BJP had declared Advani as its prime ministerial candidate because of a 'threat' from Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the veteran leader said, 'The most charitable way of responding to it is to say that Manmohan Singh is apolitical. It also means that he has accepted that Modi is unbeatable in Gujarat.'

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service