The Bharatiya Janata Party, on Tuesday, asked the Centre to withdraw from the nuclear deal with the United States, saying the pact in its present form would cripple the country's nuclear capabilities.
At a news conference, party chief Rajnath Singh said the government should press the US to grant India the same waiver as given to China. "This treaty is complicated and intriguing, as it will require the country to act in accordance with American wishes while addressing security needs," Singh remarked.
The BJP leader, whose Bharat Suraksha Yatra entered its sixth day, said there should be no compromise on India's sovereignty and independent decision-making.
"India, being a sovereign state, has the right to decide what kind of nuclear deterrent New Delhi needs in respect of international security perception. Since India has already faced four attacks from Pakistan and one from China in the past it is all the more necessary to keep New Delhi's deterrent capabilities updated," he said.
India, he pointed out, is free now to conduct nuclear tests as and when it felt necessary because it was not a signatory to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Non-Proliferation Treaty yet. "But the Indo-US nuclear energy deal will cripple India's nuclear capabilities," he warned.
Singh said Pakistan's ISI had created numerous secret cells in India. The Maoists of Nepal, he added, were also collaborating with naxalites with the help of the ISI. "India should demand an international watch on ISI," Singh said, calling Pakistan the 'world's terrorist capital'.