‘BJP showing double standards’

On the Left opposing the deal, Sharma made a distinction between the two saying the Left were partners with whom matters could be sorted out through discussion. He maintained the same line when it came to the DMK and the crisis in Sri Lanka.

The BJP’s criticism of the nuclear deal, Sharma said, has been ‘‘uninformed’’ and ‘‘deliberately partisan’’. He recalled former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee telling the UN General Assembly in 1998 that India’s ‘‘de facto’’ unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing can become a ‘‘de jure’’ one. On all these crucial movements on the foreign policy front after the Pokharan tests, Sharma said, the Congress was not kept in the loop. The UPA government was ‘‘conscious’’ of involving Parliament, he added, recalling the statements made by the PM before and after US President George W Bush’s visit.

‘‘When in Government, the NDA has taken specific steps on the nuclear programme and Indo-US relations, with regard to Pakistan. But we were not informed.’’

To the memorandum submitted by Vajpayee along with key NDA leaders alleging that the strategic programme was being capped, Sharma said: ‘‘There is no deviation, dilution or addition to the July 18 statement….why can’t the BJP appreciate major national achievemnets like India being elected to UN Human Rights Council with a thumping majority?’’ Dismissing BJP’s ‘‘baseless criticism with the contempt it deserves’’, Sharma said he was aware of the ‘‘constructive criticism’’ mounted by the Left parties.

He used a similar tone on the government’s handling of the worsening situation in Sri Lanka given the views of its allies in Tamil Nadu. ‘‘We are concerned about the situation. We are for a negotiated settlement of the ethnic and other issues,’’ he said, adding that ‘‘LTTE is a banned organisation’’.