5 ‘nuclear brahmins’

[Guest guest]

"In contrast, Advani said that the NDA’s nuclear programme was not Pakistan-centric. The BJP leader also charged that there was no element of reciprocity as assured by the PM and, in fact, the deal fettered India with non-proliferation controls which none of the five ‘nuclear brahmins’ are subjected to. "

India reduced to client state of US: Advani

 

The opposition on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Indo-US nuclear deal with Leader of Opposition L K Advani accusing the UPA government of reducing India to a ‘‘client state’’ of Washington.

Emphasising that people were not ready to accept the deal, Advani said the final US legislation was far removed from the assurances made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his August 17 speech and would add controls to the country’s foreign policy and nuclear weapons programme. ‘‘I have a lurking suspicion that the PM wants no more Pokhrans,’’ Advani said, recalling Singh’s campaign in the Rajya Sabha against the May 1998 nuclear tests by the then NDA government. The BJP leader’s principal objections to the deal were that once signed, it would mean ‘‘capping, rolling back and finally eliminating’’ India’s nuclear weapons programme and its ‘nuclear swaraj’.

‘‘It is my charge against the PM that, in saying (that the deal is about civilian nuclear cooperation and not about our strategic nuclear weapons programme), this he is misleading the nation,’’ Advani said. He accused the government of bringing the non-proliferation treaty through the backdoor. He also said that the Hyde Act (the US legislation) sought to equate India with Pakistan and directs the US administration to ‘‘continue its policy of engagement, collaboration and exchanges with and between India and Pakistan’’. In contrast, Advani said that the NDA’s nuclear programme was not Pakistan-centric. The BJP leader also charged that there was no element of reciprocity as assured by the PM and, in fact, the deal fettered India with non-proliferation controls which none of the five ‘nuclear brahmins’ are subjected to.

Supporting the Hyde Act, Congress member Nikhil Kumar said the passage of the legislation by the US Congress was an achievement for the UPA government and that the US law was not binding on India and ‘‘we reserve the right to decide on our selfinterest’’. CPI’s Roop Chand Pal accused the PM of going back on his commitments to Parliament. He added that India’s policy on Iran was being dictated by the US.

 

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