'India-US N-deal not against any religion'

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit on Wednesday backed the India-US civil nuclear deal, saying that it was in no way "detrimental" to any religion and was necessary to meet the country's future energy needs.

"Nuclear power is much essential to meet future (energy) requirements," Dikshit said while inaugurating a community centre in Muslim-dominated Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti.

She stressed that the deal did not go against any religion. 

"The people would not forgive those forces which are out to create confusions and spread hatred and are further keen to divide society for their own interests," Dikshit said.

The chief minister added that her government was committed to maintain peace and harmony in the capital as the Congress believed in "principles of secularism". 

Delhi has seven MPs, of which six belong to the Congress and one to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).   

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government faces a crucial floor test in the Lok Sabha July 22 to prove its majority in the wake of the withdrawal of support to it by its erstwhile Communist allies over the India-US nuclear deal.