Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament from Udupi, Manorama Madhwaraj, who was expelled by the party for abstaining from voting on the trust motion moved by the United Progressive Alliance government in Lok Sabha on July 22, has said she chose not to vote against the government as she favoured the India-United States nuclear agreement.

                                                            Coverage: The Nuclear Deal

Talking to reporters at her residence in Malpe near Udupi on Wednesday, she said that she believed the deal was not harmful to the country. She preferred to abstain from voting as she could not go against the party's whip and vote for the motion, Manorama said.

On the party's decision to expel her, she said she was not bothered by it. However, Manorama said she had not received any communication from the party about the action.

She said she had decided not to contest in the next parliamentary elections and would continue to support the movement against the Nagarjuna [Images] Thermal Power Project in the district.

Manorama was among the eight BJP Lok Sabha members who were expelled for voting in favour of the UPA government during the confidence motion.

                                                          Also Read: The Trust Vote