Friday, August 18 2006 11:20 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Main opposition BJP yesterday (Aug 17, 2006) expressed dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement in Rajya Sabha on the nuclear deal with US saying it did not fully address 'our interests regarding the future of our nuclear reactors and deterrent capabilities'.

"Singh's statement was rather broadly focussed on the Joint Statement of July last year between him and US President George W Bush. It did not thoroughly address our interests regarding the future of our nuclear reactors and deterrent capabilities, once the deal is through," BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra told sources.

Malhotra, whose party and its NDA allies have sought President A P J Abdul Kalam's intervention over their demands for the 'sense-of-house' resolution on the nuclear deal, insisted that such a move by the government could have lent more credibility to Singh's statement in the house.

"It would have been better if there was a 'sense-of-house' resolution on the issue or else the PM should have presented his statement in the form of a resolution.