'I won't be surprised if Govt dumps N-deal'

The Manmohan Singh Govt may bow to pressure from its communist allies, says top BJP leader LK Advani.

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 LK Advani said in Ahmedabad on Friday.

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"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 on 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.

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."