Don't get trapped in N-deal quicksand: BJP

BJP has said the India-US civil nuclear deal was designed to "eliminate" New Delhi's nuclear capability.

Main opposition BJP on Tuesday warned the UPA government not to get trapped in "quicksand" of the new US law saying the India-US civil nuclear deal was designed to "eliminate" New Delhi's nuclear capability.

Spearheading the opposition attack in the Rajya Sabha, senior BJP leader Arun Shourie said provisions in the Act, signed by President George W Bush, showed the objective of the US policy was to "halt, rollback and eliminate" India's nuclear capability.

Cautioning the Manmohan Singh government not to get trapped in "quicksand", Shourie said it was a "strategic flaw" that for high growth the country needed to import 35,000 MW nuclear energy as uranium was costly.

"This is a myth that we do not have enough uranium. Rather, India has 78,000 tonnes of known preserves of uranium," he said adding that shortage of uranium was just a "temporary aberration" because of problem of acquisition of tribal land.

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