New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today rejected the BJP charges that India pulled out of the deal for Russian reactors for Koodankulam or meetings of the Shanghai Corporation Organisation(SCO) under US pressure. Singh described as "false" the charges levelled by senior BJP member Yashwant Sinha in one of his brief interventions during a debate in the Rajya Sabha on the Indo-US nuclear deal.

"I submit that the member(Sinha) is levelling false charges, Singh said. Sinha had accused Singh of staying away from two meetings of the SCO after New Delhi was invited to its meetings with an observer status under Washingtons influence.

"All that I was interested was that if the Indian Prime Minister goes to these meetings, he should not sit in the side lounge, coffee lounge and not be involved in an active manner," Singh said. Singh intervened again to defend his government when Sinha accused the government of buckling under pressure from the US in not signing the Russian reactors agreement at the last minute during his recent visit to Moscow.

"It has always been understood that the agreements for four additional reactors for Koodankulam atomic power project could be operationalised only after India got the approval from IAEA for India-specific safeguards and the exemption from the Nuclear Suppliers group," Singh said.
"So the impression that you are giving is false propaganda inside and outside which is not related to the facts of the case," said an unusually aggressive Singh during the course of a wordy duel with the former Extermal Affairs minister.

Source : PTI