'PM must prove majority in parliament'

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Thursday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to immediately prove his government's majority in parliament.

"The NDA demands that the PM seeks a vote of confidence in parliament immediately. The nation has lost faith in the opportunistic and untrustworthy UPA (United Progressive Alliance) regime," BJP leader LK Advani told reporters here.

Speaking about the row over the India-US nuclear deal and the government decision to go to the IAEA for an India-specific safeguards pact, Advani said: "A minority government cannot be allowed to barter away the nation's interests through the back door."

He accused the Congress of entering "an opportunistic and unprincipled alliance" with the Samajwadi Party "to stay in office for a few more months following the withdrawal of Left support.

"Using this as a fig leaf, it (UPA government) is pretending that it still enjoys majority in the Lok Sabha," he added.