PM misled the parliament over US nuke deal :Indian Lawmakers

Lawmakers on Thursday accused Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of misleading parliament about a controversial civilian nuclear deal with the United States.MPs from four Communist parties, who prop up Singh's government in parliament, joined opposition lawmakers in alleging that he gave false information about the deal on Monday."Stop speaking lies. Stop selling the country and save India," shouted MPs from the upper house as they demanded Singh's resignation.Uproar in both the upper and lower houses of parliament forced its adjournment for the day.The MPs focused on Singh's statement on Monday in which he said the civil nuclear energy deal concluded with Washington last month would not curb India's right to test nuclear weapons.Singh's statement seemed to contradict remarks by a US State Department spokesman on Tuesday who said the accord had provisions allowing Washington to terminate the agreement if India tested atomic weapons.Hindu nationalists and the Communists piled pressure on Singh for going ahead with the accord, which permits India to buy atomic fuel, technology and plants even though it is not party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee tried to allay MPs' concerns, saying "there is nothing in the bilateral agreement that the government has entered with the US that will tie the hands of a future government to undertake a nuclear test." But his promise that India retained the "sovereign right to test and would do so if it is necessary in the national interest" found few takers, with the Communists walking out and the opposition trooping to the well of the house to protest.Earlier, Communist lawmaker D. Raja warned the government not to take the support of the Left bloc for granted."The Left is a serious political force and reflects the concerns of the people. The government should understand this," he said."Despite this, if they go ahead with the deal, then we will decide what we can do."The Communists are to debate the agreement at a two-day meeting in New Delhi starting Friday.Tensions between the government and its allies mounted last week after Singh told the Communists the deal would not be renegotiated and dared them to withdraw support for the ruling Congress coalition.The deal also requires the approval of the US Congress before it becomes operational.