A statement issued by Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh and BJP president Rajnath Singh said, "We stand opposed to the deal because in our view it compromises the long-term strategic programme of India vital for country%u2019s security, neither will it meet our energy needs of the future. Therefore, the BJP strongly recommends that this deal must be renegotiated and not hustled through."
The BJP took the position that the Congress-led UPA government is compromising on the nuclear doctrine and the strategic programme given shape to by the Vajpayee government. The BJP has taken strong objection to the government agreeing to cap the nuclear tests at a time of heightened threat perception to national security. Even the situation in the neighbourhood was volatile, it was pointed out. The party took the stand that it cannot brook indifference to the strategic programme.
The BJP said the nuclear tests had to be conducted to keep pace with the technology. The party cannot accept any cap on nuclear testing as it was not in national interest. The BJP said that it was the Vajpayee government that had shaped the nuclear doctrine and the credible minimum nuclear deterrent. This hard-earned nuclear deterrent should not be frittered away, feels the BJP. It was also felt that energy security from the nuclear deal was illusory as the increase from nuclear energy was only marginal. The BJP insisted that the strategic programme was
