Monday, August 8 2005 19:31 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Opposition BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) in the Rajya Sabha today (Aug 8, 2005) said India should safeguard its interests while fighting terrorism and acquiring high technology under the defence cooperation pact with the United States.

Sounding a warning that the US was a divided house on international aspects, Leader of the Opposition Jaswant Singh said India should tread a cautious path to ensure its interests were protected.

Initiating a discussion on Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement on "New Framework for the US-India Defence Relationship", Singh said, "I have not seen US as internationally divided as I have seen it today".

Singh said the much talked about New Step in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) between the two countries should be taken forward only after consensus.

"NSSP is a revolution in thought in the US and India. It is a hesitant revolution. There is a hesitation in India as there is a great deal of hesitation in the United States", he said.

Singh said the US Government takes active decisions only in the first two years of its rule.

He, however, welcomed the defence cooperation with the US and said it was a continuity of the earlier Government's policy.