BJP plans privilege motion against PM over N-deal

In an attempt to wrest the initiative of taking the Government to task from the Left parties, the BJP is planning to bring a privilege motion against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for what it sees a deviation from the statement he made in Parliament during the pre-recess session on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

‘‘On the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, the Prime Minister told Parliament that his statement would be the blueprint (of the negotiation), but in real terms they are giving much more (to the US). He has completely deviated from that stated position on the deal and therefore we feel that he has misled Parliament,’’ BJP’s deputy leader in Lok Sabha V K Malhotra said.

Along with 45 other notices on Volcker and wheat import, Malhotra said the BJP ‘‘is bringing a privilege motion against the Prime Minister on the nuclear deal’’. That apart, the BJP is also preparing to haul up the Government for what it calls ‘‘goof-ups’’ on the foreign policy front. ‘‘Whether it is Nepal or Iran, the Government has put India in an awkward position by not taking timely action.’’

The other item on the BJP agenda is J-K. ‘‘The Doda massacre shows the Government isn’t taking the issue seriously,’’ Malhotra added.

santwana.bhattacharya@expressindia.com