Nuclear issue: UPA surrendering India's sovereignty, says Murli Manohar Joshi

Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi today accused the UPA government of "almost mortgaging" Indian interests in the wake of reports of attempts to dilute the nuclear liability clause in contracts proposed with US firms.

Nuclear reactors should be established on India's terms but the government seemed to be determined to support American companies, Joshi told reporters here, alleging "Indian interests are almost being mortgaged."

"We are surrendering our sovereignty on nuclear issue to U.S. agencies", Joshi said, amid a raging controversy over media reports that the government was trying to dilute the nuclear liability clause in deals with American nuclear firms for buying reactors during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Washington visit next week.

Dismissing the media reports, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon had stated yesterday that civil nuclear projects in the country would be subject to Indian laws, including on issues of civil liability.

Joshi said the UPA government was trying to dilute the nuclear liability act that the suppliers of nuclear reactors were liable for damages- a principle applied all over the world.

He said American companies did not have the experience in setting up nuclear reactors for the last many years, adding, "we have to be careful".

On the Muzaffarnagar riots in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP leader said the "type of incidents and approach of Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP leader) and UPA have resulted in total destruction of administration. Literally, there is no administration."

"The Centre and Mulayam are hand in glove and are following vote bank politics," he said, alleging that one community was being oppressed.

He dismissed allegations that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's confidante Amit Shah's entry into Uttar Pradesh as party's in charge had triggered the atmosphere for riots, saying" this is blasphemy." "...it has nothing to do with Amit Shah."