Bhopal: Alleging the Indo-US nuclear deal will jeopardise the country's nuclear programme, the BJP yesterday (Dec 17, 2006) said if it was accepted in its current form, the party will nullify the agreement when it comes to power at the Centre.

"We (BJP) are against the nuclear treaty in current form. When BJP comes to power at the Centre, we will nullify it," senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi told reporters here.

Alleging that Indian scientists were not invited for discussions before the final draft of the legislation was prepared, he said "normal bureaucrats" will not be able to understand intricacies in the legislation passed by the US Congress.

The Prime Minister should address concerns expressed by scientists before moving ahead with it, he demanded.

The US bill does not address energy needs of India. There is no guarantee of perpetual supply of nuclear fuel in the reactors imported from the US or elsewhere, he claimed.

"You will become dependent on the US and it can stop the supply whenever it wants. The treaty will also invite in-depth scrutiny by the IAEA and US agencies," he claimed.

"Under the garb of scrutiny, Indian nuclear programme, including pioneering research carried out in the field of thorium technology, will have to be disclosed to the US," he said.

"Claiming that the US has equated India and Pakistan at all levels under the treaty," he said.

"How can you describe India as a responsible state and equate it with an irresponsible rogue nation?" he said.