The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said it was 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 Lal Kishenchand Advani said at an Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India function in Delhi.
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 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.
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