Jayalalitha jumps into N-deal debate

Terming the UPA govt a "lame duck", AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha said PM Manmohan Singh was pushing the "contentious" India-US nuclear deal only to "save face" before US President George Bush.

Terming the UPA government a "lame duck", AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha on Saturday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was pushing the "contentious" India-US nuclear deal only to "save face" before US President George Bush.

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In a statement, Jayalaitha criticised the government for pursuing a "single point agenda", though it had been "reduced to a minority government following withdrawal of support by the Left parties".

Whether the nuclear deal was necessary or not could be decided "only after the fine print was read, only after all the tenets of the agreement were debated throughly", the statement said.

"Is the agreement, which has been on the anvil for quite some time, so important that it cannot wait for another six to eight months, when more representative dispensations will hopefully be available in both India and the US?" she asked.