NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday criticised the Left parties for what it called backing out of a proposed parliamentary resolution on the India-United States civilian nuclear agreement.

"The Left parties talk rhetorically, they make a lot of noise and then they chicken out," BJP deputy leader in the Lok Sabha V.K. Malhotra said. "They did this on the issue of privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports, they protested against bank mergers, they said they would organise all-India agitations against price rise, they promised they would insist on a roll back of petrol and diesel prices, but each time they back out," Mr. Malhotra said.

The party was hoping that differences between the United Progressive Alliance Government and the Left would reach a flash point on the India-U.S. nuclear agreement. A senior BJP leader had said that he hoped the Left would "fall into our trap." But, on Friday, when it became clear that the Left parties would not press ahead with their resolution, the BJP called it "hypocritical."

Meanwhile, the controversy over the "mole" in the then Prime Minister, Narasimha Rao's office, triggered by senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh, continued to embarrass the party. On Friday, National Democratic Alliance convener George Fernandes told a television channel that Mr. Singh conveyed no such information to him when he was the NDA Government's Defence Minister. Mr. Fernandes said it was wrong on the part of Mr. Singh to write about this in his book when he was not willing to name the alleged "mole." As a result, aspersions had unfairly been cast on a number of retired civil servants who held high positions during the Narasimha Rao regime.

The BJP continued to be silent on the subject, directing all queries from correspondents to Mr. Singh.

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