By IANS,
New Delhi : Outgoing Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee Wednesday termed as “without any basis or foundation” the statement of Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh that he had requested him to support the Congress-led government on the India-US nuclear deal.
Amar Singh made the remarks at a press conference here prompting Chatterjee to issue a statement saying “it is regretted that the speaker has been dragged into a needless controversy”.
“I am extremely surprised to learn that Shri Amar Singh has stated that I had requested his party to support the government on the nuclear deal,” the speaker said in the statement.
“I am constrained to say that the statement of my good friend is without any basis or foundation whatsoever.
“I have never made any observation at any point of time about the merits or otherwise of the nuclear deal and there was no occasion for me to offer any advice in this matter,” he said.
Amar Singh had earlier claimed that SP changed its stand on the nuclear deal and supported the United Progressive Alliance government during the July 22 trust vote after Chatterjee’s request.
“Before we supported the Congress-led coalition, for four and a half years there were bitter relations between the SP and the Congress. However, Somnath da asked me to support the deal in the national interest,” Amar Singh said.