N-deal must reflect sense of Parliament: Oppn

Voicing apprehensions that the United States was trying to limit India's strategic weapons development programme by putting up fresh conditionalities on the nuclear deal, the Opposition on Thursday demanded a passage of a resolution in the Rajya Sabha to reflect the sense of Parliament that country's nuclear and strategic autonomy is not compromised.

Speakers from three main Opposition parties – Bharatiya Janata Party, Samajwadi Party and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam -- put forward the demand for a resolution and called for the setting up of a joint parliamentary committee as the House took up a short duration discussion on the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury, while voicing apprehensions on attempts to cap the country's nuclear and fissile production programme, distanced from other parties' demand saying that if the prime minister came up with a comprehensive assurance of India not succumbing to US pressures, it could form the basis of a unanimous resolution on the issue.

Former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha, who initiated the discussion, said the proposed JPC would oversee implementation of the resolution. SP leader Amar Singh, strident in his opposition to the deal, said a House resolution will remove apprehensions on the deal. N Jothi (AIADMK) said his party was opposed 'tooth and nail' to the deal and wanted India to maintain full sovereignty on nuclear and strategic programme.

However, eminent space scientist Kasturi Rangan observed that the Indo-US nuclear cooperation will lead to scientific acceleration in India.