HVK Archives: West happy with Cong.'s defiance of Vajpayee govt.'s
West happy with Cong.'s defiance of Vajpayee govt.'s - The Times of India
Prakash Nanda
()
April 2, 1998
Title: West happy with Cong.'s defiance of Vajpayee govt.'s
nuclear plan
Author: Prakash Nanda
Publication: The Times of India
Date: April 2, 1998
Criticisms of both the national agenda for governance of the BJP-
led coalition government and the presidential address in
Parliament by the opposition parties on the nuclear question
seems to have come as a big relief to the diplomats of the
Western countries based here.
e are happy to note that the opposition parties in India will
Oppose tooth and nail the Vajpayee government's plans to induct
nuclear weapons. This is all the more so when a former Indian
foreign minister, Pranab Mukherjee, Argued in Parliament on
Tuesday that India had closed its weapon option way back in 1974
as the country was for a nuclear-free world, that India did not
sign the NPT and CTBT only because they were discriminatory and
that a nuclear India would trigger an arms-race in the region.
Nothing could be truer than what Mr Mukherjee said", a diplomat
of an important Western country said.
Mr Mukherjee's remarks, however, have come as a big surprise to
many diplomatic observers, including South Block officials. As
one official put it, "it seems that Mr Mukherjee has belittled
his own party's manifesto, in preparing which he had played a big
role".
On the nuclear question, the Congress manifesto said, "The
Congress will continue its efforts for total and complete
disarmament. Our nuclear policy will continue to be for peaceful,
developmental purposes. But we will not he found wanting in case
of any threat by hostile forces".
It is therefore, argued that by asserting that India has closed
its nuclear option, Mr Mukherjee is going back on the party's
commitment towards the weapon option "in case of any threat by
hostile forces".
Observers further pointed out that the Congress had not said a
word against the United Front government's reasons for not
signing the CTBT in 1996. Because, so runs the argument, apart
>from CTBT's discriminatory character, the then Deve Gowda
government had said that the treaty did not take into account
"India's security concerns".
hat being the case, Mr Mukherjee's argument in Parliament is
breaking domestic consensus on the nuclear question. All told,
the Vajpayee government is not going to induct nuclear weapons
'tomorrow, As has been clarified by the Prime Minister, there is
no time framework for going for weaponisation and that the
decision to that effect will follow after a strategic review.
he point is, the BJP government is not afraid of taking a hard
decision should the need arise. But the Congress is no longer
prepared for it for understandable reasons. It is well known how
the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation under the chairmanship of Ms Sonia
Gandhi has taken many a time positions on the, nuclear issue
quite, akin to the views of the West", an analyst said.
The fact that the UF has not contested the Congress view as
elaborated by Mr Mukherjee is explained by analysts to the fact
that Left parties, are known sympathiser of China, yet another
country which will not like India to go nuclear and be in a
position to withstand future Chinese challenges, if any, in Asia.
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