The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, New Delhi

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has dismissed calls from opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to resign after his apparent climb-down on sealing a landmark nuclear deal with the United States, saying he hoped the deal could move ahead.

"Well, the BJP of all parties has the least moral right to make such a demand," Singh was widely quoted on Friday in Indian newspapers as saying.

The prime minister said he hoped the nuclear deal would still go forward.

"I have mentioned that there are some difficulties. We are working in a coalition. We have to find a way out and I have not given up hope," he said.

The controversial agreement -- which aims to give India access to much-needed but long-denied U.S. nuclear fuel and reactors -- had pushed Singh's coalition to the brink of collapse after its communist allies rejected the pact.