Asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to make the nuclear deal a "prestige issue", BSP chief Mayawati on Monday said the UPA should suspend further action on the agreement and leave it for the next government to finalise it.
Claiming that the deal was a step to make India a "slave" of the United States, she said the country should hold its head high to safeguard its interests.
"The Government and the Prime Minister should not make the deal a prestige issue. They should suspend the deal for the time being. Elections are near. Let the next government take a decision on it," she told a press conference in New Delhi.
She noted that the deal would also "hamper" the $7.4 billion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project as the US was acting against Tehran in a "dangerous" manner.