NEW DELHI, Aug 17: If Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was China’s head of government, he would have been shot for “bluffing” to the nation over the nuclear deal with the United States, a former Indian defence minister said on Friday.

“What has emerged is that the prime minister of the country has betrayed the nation by continuous bluffing, something unbecoming of the head of the government,” George Fernandes, who was part of the previous Hindu nationalist-led government, said in a statement.

“If it were China, they would have settled it with one bullet in his head,” the maverick veteran politician said in the statement.

Both the Hindu nationalist opposition and communist allies of Mr Singh’s Congress party-led coalition have attacked the nuclear deal, saying it was an unfair and unequal pact.

Manmohan Singh has defended the deal, saying it is crucial for India’s development and would not impact New Delhi’s foreign or security policies.

—Reuters