NEW DELHI: The Opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will submit a memorandum to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam against the India-U.S. nuclear deal, saying it was detrimental to national interests and compromised on sovereignty.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson, said the delegation to meet the President on Friday would be led by the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He said all NDA leaders, including BJP stalwarts like the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani, would march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to register their protest against the deal.

Mr. Malhotra said the deal was also against India's energy and scientific interests. He said the memorandum would dwell upon several such aspects, which were against the country's interests.

Uproar in Rajya Sabha

Earlier in the day, the deal also cast its shadow over the proceedings in the Rajya Sabha, where the BJP-led Opposition members resented the absence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh just after the question hour got over.

They demanded that Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat should ensure the presence of the Prime Minister. The uproar led to the House being adjourned twice in the pre-lunch session.

As soon as the question hour was over, Dr. Singh, who was present, left the House, prompting the BJP members to demand from the Chair that he should stay in the House as they wanted only him to respond on the nuclear issue, which they wanted to raise during zero hour.

Amidst the din, Opposition BJP members, led by Yashwant Sinha and Sushma Swaraj, said they wanted to raise the issue of civilian nuclear cooperation during question hour itself when the Prime Minister was present but bowed to the Chair's desire that the issue may be raised during zero hour.

As unrelenting Opposition members, joined by Samajwadi Party members, shouted slogans asking for the Prime Minister's presence, the House was adjourned for nearly half-an-hour and when it met again, the proceedings could barely last a few minutes and the Deputy Chairman K. Rehman Khan adjourned the House till 2 p.m.

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