New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has failed to garner the support of BJP on the Indo-US nuclear deal with the Opposition party maintaining that it could not accept the agreement in its present form.

The BJP's stand was made clear by senior leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani when he met them here last night seeking the party's support during the debate on the deal in Parliament. Advani told the Prime Minister that the party's "concerns on the nuclear deal have not been addressed," senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj told reporters here today, a day after Singh drove to Vajpayee's residence to meet him.

The Leader of the Opposition asked Singh whether he can assure that India will be able to conduct nuclear tests after operationalising the deal, Swaraj said, adding the Prime Minister did not make any commitment. Advani had earlier this week said that the government approached the Opposition party on the deal when it was on the "verge of falling" and it was too late to support the government on the issue.

BJP has been demanding renegotiation of the deal as it feels the agreement with the US would impact upon the country's nuclear weapons programme and independent foreign policy. The BJP-led NDA discussed the issue at its meeting here this evening during which Advani apprised coalition partners of his discussions with the Prime Minister.

Source : PTI