The Hindu : Front Page : Somnath Chatterjee refutes Amar Singh’s claim

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 21, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Somnath Chatterjee refutes Amar Singh’s claim

Special Correspondent

Denies he requested SP to support India-U.S. nuclear deal

NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Wednesday denied that he had requested the Samajwadi Party to support the India-U.S. Nuclear Agreement as claimed by party general secretary Amar Singh here.

In a statement issued by the outgoing Speaker’s office, Mr. Chatterjee said Mr. Singh’s claim was “without any basis or foundation whatsoever.”

Expressing surprise at the statement, Mr. Chatterjee said, “I have never made any observation at any point of time about the merits or otherwise of the Nuclear Deal and there was no occasion for me to offer any advice in this matter.

It is regretted that the Speaker has been dragged into a needless controversy.”

Earlier speaking to journalists, Mr. Singh said that his party, which was against the nuclear deal initially, had changed its stand and supported the then United Progressive Alliance government on the issue, despite “bitter relations” with the Congress, at the behest of the Speaker who suggested that the deal was in the national interest.

Mr. Singh claimed that the outgoing Speaker encouraged the party to forget its acrimony with the Congress.

He, however, added that the Speaker did not ask them for support to the government.

The SP leader said they had a lot of respect for the Speaker and used to meet him often. It was during their meetings with him that he suggested to them that the deal was in the national interest. It was at his and former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s behest that they decided to support the deal, he said.

The SP, which had 39 members in the dissolved Lok Sabha, bailed out the UPA government last July after the Left parties withdrew support over the nuclear deal.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page