With the Indo-US nuclear deal already turning into a major headache for the government, the BJP on Monday asked the Congress to take a clear stand on the issue instead of blaming others.
"Why do they blame either their partners or the Opposition. It is for them (Congress) to arrive at a solution," senior leader Jaswant Singh said while briefing on the foreign policy resolution adopted at the party's National Executive.
The resolution severely criticises the Manmohan Singh government on several fronts and charges it with "dereliction" of duty in addressing foreign policy and national security challenges to the country.
Against the backdrop of developments in Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh, it said India's immediate neighbourhood never went through such a turmoil in the past 60 years as is being witnessed now.
The government has never been as "inactive" as it is today. Turning to the nuclear deal, the party asked why it should plead with the BJP or blame the allies when "the Congress can, on its own, resolve this issue simply by taking a stand: 'for or against'. Why does it not do so?"
"Set your own house in order," it said while reiterating that the deal in the present form is unacceptable to the party and must be renegotiated. The resolution accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of "maladroit" handling of Indo-US ties, reducing them to a single issue relationship with a "now or never" kind of desperation attached to it.