New Delhi, August 13
The nuclear deal has brought ideological foes on talking terms as BJP leader L.K. Advani today spoke to CPM leader Prakash Karat and sought his party’s vote against the deal in Parliament.

Confirming the development, former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha told newspersons that Advani had spoken to Karat. “We are in touch with leaders of the Left and the UNPA,” he said.

In response to a question on whether the BJP was in touch with parties opposed to the deal over its call for a vote, Sinha said Advani and other NDA leaders had made a fresh request to Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to allow a discussion on the deal under Rule 184 that entailed a vote.

A separate notice has also been sent to the Rajya Sabha secretariat for a similar discussion. “We are in touch with leaders of all political parties (opposed to the deal) for floor coordination,” Sinha pointed out.

Earlier, the BJP rejected the Prime Minister’s suo motu statement in Parliament on the deal as a bundle of “untruths, half-truths and pure white lies” that, according to former minister Arun Shourie, the PM had been dishing out day in and day out.