Saying the Copenhagen climate accord betrayed the developing world and did not protect India’s national interests, Indian opposition parties Tuesday slammed the government over the agreement.

However, a key interlocutor at the talks, India’s Federal Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, hailed the lack of targets and legally binding measures in the agreement.

In a speech in the Upper House of India’s Parliament, Arun Jaitley, a leader of the opposition Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party lashed out at the government’s role in the negotiations, which he said allowed rich nations avoid commitments they had made under the Kyoto Protocol.

The government had been “outwitted” in the drafting of the document which was principally an agreement between the US and the BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) group rather than an accord among the 192 countries attending the summit, Jaitley said.

He added, “It [the accord] appears to be a complete betrayal of poor and weaker nations, the developing nations. After all, negotiation is a process by which you create value for your country.”

(article source: Monsters and Critics, image source: NASA)