By IANS
New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday said it would not change its stance on the Indo-US nuclear deal in spite of appeals by the US.
BJP vice president Yashwant Sinha made the statement after US Ambassador David C. Mulford met him at his residence Monday afternoon. The meeting lasted an hour.
After the meeting, Sinha admitted: “Yes Mr. Mulford came to visit me. It was not a private visit. We did discuss the Indo-US nuclear deal.”
Asked if the visit would have any effect on the BJP’s stand on the deal, Sinha who along with another party leader Arun Shourie is spearheading the anti-deal lobby in the party, told IANS: “Do you think the party stand is so fragile that one visit by the US ambassador would change it?”
Sources in the BJP confirmed that Mulford had come to visit Sinha to persuade the BJP to soften its line and support the government on the proposed civilian nuclear deal.
A BJP leader said, “Though Mr Mulford tried to persuade Mr Sinha. But he told him that we are very firm on the Hyde Act and nuclear weapons programme.”
On Oct 25, Mulford had met senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani and reportedly made the same request. However, Advani did not make any commitment to the US ambassador, party sources had said.
US diplomats have been lobbying with political leaders of all hues, including the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), but in particular the BJP.
On Oct 29, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, who had specially flown to India, met Advani. The same day Mulford met BJP president Rajnath Singh.
On Sunday, Kissinger flew to Kolkata to work on the CPI-M via West Bengal Chief Minister Budhadeb Bhattacharya.
While the US diplomats have avoided saying anything on their efforts, political circles indicated that all this hectic activity was directed towards the winter session of parliament when a non-voting discussion on the Indo-US deal is expected.
While the Left has persuaded several Third Front parties to go along with it, the US is persuading the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance to support the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on this issue.