Flip-Flop
The BJP's somersaults on the Indo-US nuclear deal in the last four months:
- July: The party's official position is that it is opposed to the deal
- August 26: L.K. Advani states the BJP has no objection to the 123 Agreement if the Atomic Energy Act is amended
- August 31: Advani retracts, bowing to pressure from the party. He reiterates the BJP's earlier position that the nuclear deal is unacceptable.
- Early October: Party claims a victory after the deal is put on hold by Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi. The BJP says it will renegotiate the deal if it comes back to power.
- End October Brajesh Mishra, a close advisor of Atal Behari Vajpayee, says the deal can go ahead if the country's strategic weapons programme isn't compromised
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The Indo-US nuclear deal may have been "paused". The Congress-led government may have indicated that it is in no great hurry to advance the...
