In a statement issued here on Monday, Desai said the nuclear tests had exposed the US's hypocrisy. Having conducted so many tests itself, the US was forbidding India from conducting tests, he said, adding it was sheer double standards. The US was acting like a world cop, he observed.

He, however, appealed Vajpayee not to go in for an atom bomb as he said India could not afford it. The security of the nation is a matter of prime concern and should be accorded top priority, he said, though questioning whether India could really ensure such security with nuclear bombs. Stating that no nation could take the risk of waging a nuclear war, he wondered what was the point in going nuclear.

Pointing out that no nation can ensure its security without strong economic conditions, Desai suggested formation of a national government to face the challenges posed by powers inimical to India and the economic sanctions imposed on it.

Desai also urged the leaders of all political parties to review the policy of economic liberalisation, which he said was ``essentially anti-poor''. In the wake of nuclear tests, economic sanctions imposed on the country by the US and other countries should be seen as a blessing in disguise because it will force the government to remodel its economic policy ``on the line of Gandhiji's economic thoughts for a self-reliant vibrant economy,'' he said.

Meanwhile, the city unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has also welcomed the nuclear tests describing it as ``praise-worthy step'' by the government.

In a joint statement issued by city president Arvind Godiwala, former mayor Fakirbhai Chauhan, city secretary Kanubhai Joshi exhorted the people to stand up and unitedly face the challenge of the world community following explosions in Pokhran.