New Delhi: Sticking to his guns on the issue of banning nuclear testing, senior BJP leader L K Advani today heaped praise on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for carrying out India's first atomic explosion test at Pokhran.

"We appreciate the steps taken by Indira Gandhi towards Pokhran-I. It was a policy shift from earlier governments which had said nuclear power is only for civilian use," he said.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said he did not hesitate to "compliment Indira Gandhi" for conducting the nuclear test in Pokhran in September 1972.

"But we did Pokhran-II and the present Prime Minister is critical of it," he said.

Referring top the Indo-US nuclear deal, Advani said the BJP would "oppose any bilateral agreement which harms the independence of the country's nuclear testing".

Source : PTI