BJP approached us for an alliance against Cong: SP

Amid talks of its possible alliance with Congress, Samajwadi Party on Wednesday claimed that it was "once again" approached by the BJP for a tie-up against the ruling party.

Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh told reporters here that senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh met party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav earlier in the day to discuss the possibility of an alliance.

"We told Jaswant Singh ji that BJP and Left parties have the same opinion on Manmohan Singh government and nuclear deal. We informed him about our stand that though we are also apprehensive about this deal, but we can not go with the communal forces," Amar Singh said.

Singh said that his party rejected the offer from the "saffron party" once again, as the "BJP is pressing communal agenda in the country."

He claimed that BJP had approached SP for an alliance last year during UP elections, adding that the offer was made in return of SP's support to Bhairon Singh Shekhawat for the Presidential election.

"For us deal is not the bigger danger but Uttar Pradesh where communal sentiments are being instigated in the name of Ayodhya, Mathura and Kashi. It has been made the laboratory of aggressive Hindutva by BJP," Singh said.

Singh was speaking to media persons after a meeting with National Security Advisor MK Narayanan who briefed Yadav and party leaders on the nuclear deal.

Singh said that the BJP leader also discussed with SP leaders his experiences on handling the deal with US government when he was the external affairs minister during NDA regime.