NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) said on Friday that any party could share its perspective on the India-U.S. nuclear agreement, and that it had differences with the Bharatiya Janata Party on the country's strategic nuclear programme.

"We have fundamental differences with the BJP on the issue. We had opposed the Pokhran-II blasts and nuclear weaponisation, and we continue to do so. We feel that by conducting the Pokhran-II blasts [in May 1998], the BJP brought Pakistan on parity with India," MP and Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury told correspondents here.

Discussion next week

He said the Rajya Sabha was likely to discuss the nuclear deal next week, and re-asserted the party stand that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's reply should reflect the "sense of the House."

The party's Lok Sabha leader, Basudeb Acharia, said Dr. Singh should assure the nation that the Government would never bend before any pressure and would abide by the parameters set by him.

They said Dr. Singh should give an assurance that the agreement would not bind the country to conditionalites.

They pointed out that the CPI(M) had raised nine points of departures made by U.S. lawmakers from the July 2005 joint statement. The Government should reaffirm that these concerns would be addressed.

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