Manmohan rejects BJP's call to resign

Indian PM Manmohan Singh has rejected calls from the main opposition party to resign after his government appeared to have shelved a nuclear deal with US.
Singh said he had not "given up hope" on the controversial deal that has been stiffly opposed by the government's communist allies.
Singh told US President George W Bush recently that he was having difficulty implementing the deal.
It was the first clear sign India may shelve the deal. Differences between the Congress-led government and its allies over the deal has led to talk of early elections.
The Congress Party's communist allies say the deal, which would allow India access to civilian nuclear technology and fuel, gives the US leverage on India's foreign policy.
Singh told reporters that the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which has been demanding his resignation had no "right" to make such a demand.
"The BJP is least qualified to talk about our moral right to govern since it was in power when the holocaust in Gujarat took place," he was quoted as telling Indian newspapers.
Singh was alluding to the communal rioting in western Gujarat state in 2002 in which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, lost their lives.
He also said he was still hopeful about the nuclear deal.
"I have maintained there are some difficulties. We are a coalition. We have to find a way out. I have not given up hope yet," he said.
After many weeks during which the government insisted it would press ahead with the deal, Singh's conversation with Bush on Monday pointed to the government backtracking in the face of opposition.
But, on Thursday, Singh told reporters on the sidelines of an official tour of Africa: "The process of evolving a meaningful consensus on the nuclear deal is still on."
The Congress Party and its allies are meeting again on Monday to discuss the deal.