The BJP today called for political solidarity against the government over the India-US nuclear deal as it asked the Left to choose between power and national interest and withdraw support to the Congress-led UPA government."Over the last three years, the Left parties have clearly shown that they are only willing to engage in verbal duels with the government without displaying the resolve to strike," party chief Rajnath Singh said in a statement.Senior BJP leader V K Malhotra told reporters that Left should withdraw support to the Manmohan Singh government over the Indo-US nuclear deal saying it was time for Communists to "bite" and not "bark"."... Time has come for all political parties to go beyond their ideological differences and display solidarity against the government on issues of national importance by taking the matter to its logical end," Singh said.Singh maintained that the UPA's Communist supporters, who have warned the government of serious consequences over the nuke deal, were required to match their words with action.Ideological difference, he said, cannot be bigger than the nation.Singh, whose predecessor L K Advani had unsuccessfully sought the Left's support in his party's call for a voting in parliament on the accord, described as "ironical" the Communists' apparent unwillingness to endorse the BJP's move while opposing the deal strongly.In a statement, the BJP chief accused the Left of indulging in what he called shadow boxing with the government over the nuclear deal. "If the nuclear deal is against the nation, will the Left parties now allow this government to continue?" he asked. The Left, he said, should decide whether it wants to remain in the "trap" of power.
