The Hindu : National : India should go ahead with nuclear deal: Brajesh

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Monday, Apr 28, 2008
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India should go ahead with nuclear deal: Brajesh

Otherwise country will suffer a ‘severe loss of face’
It will not affect India’s strategic programme

New Delhi: Contradicting the BJP’s views on the nuclear deal with the U.S., the former National Security Adviser, Brajesh Mishra, has said India should go ahead with the agreement, failing which the country would suffer a “severe loss of face” and its atomic programme a setback.

Mr. Mishra, who served in the previous BJP-led government, said the deal should be concluded during the tenure of Bush administration as change of government in the U.S. would make things difficult.

Noting that he had talks with government representatives and scientists, Mr. Mishra said he was convinced that the deal would not affect India’s strategic programme.

‘No bar on tests’

“This deal does not stop us from continuing our strategic programme... There is no doubt about it that there is no bar on India undertaking nuclear tests,” he told Karan Thapar’s ‘Devil’s Advocate’ programme in CNN-IBN.

Mr. Mishra’s comments fly in the face of the BJP’s contention that the deal would impact on India’s strategic autonomy, the country’s nuclear military programme and its independent foreign policy.

Though there was no ban on future atomic tests, Mr. Mishra agreed that “exercising that option means a lot of hardships — economic and otherwise — because sanctions will inevitably follow.”

‘CTBT equal for all’

Mr. Mishra was also of the view that India would have to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the option of nuclear tests was bound to be closed.

“The CTBT is equal for all. There is no discriminatory treatment in it. Which is why if the other 400 odd countries mentioned in the treaty ratify India can’t hold back. India will have to sign it and we will have no argument to go against it,” he said.

To a question on Pakistan, he said India should try to have a coordinated approach with the U.S., European Union and China to try and see that the armed forces were fully with the democratic forces in that country. — PTI

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