The Hindu : New Delhi News : N-Deal will not hit ties with friendly nations: Congress

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 20, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

N-Deal will not hit ties with friendly nations: Congress

Staff Reporter

“It will not result in any change in the country’s foreign policy”

Photo: V.V. Krishnan.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma addressing party MPs from Delhi and DPCC members on the Indo-US nuclear deal on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma on Saturday asserted that signing the nuclear deal with the United States would not create any problem or result in any change in the country’s foreign policy.

Insisting that the nuclear deal would not create any strain in India’s relations with its friendly nations, the Congress leader said the United Progressive Alliance Government would never compromise the country’s interests on any account nor does the Congress have a history of putting the nation in any sort of trouble.

Speaking at a discussion on “Nuclear Deal” organised by the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, Mr. Sharma charged that the BJP and the Communists were making unwarranted remarks to create uncertainty in the country which was not in the interest of the nation.

Mr. Sharma said the Congress had not made any compromises on the nuclear deal issue as it wanted to ensure more energy generation in the country to meet its increasing demand. The Minister said Jawaharlal Nehru had also refrained from signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) because it was not in the interest of the then fledgling nation. As a result, he said, India was able to test its nuclear capability at Pokhran in 1974 when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister.

Mr. Sharma accused the BJP of doublespeak in the matter and said when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister India had conducted the second nuclear test at Pokhran. Also, he said, the BJP was even prepared to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty which was exposed by an American official in his book.

As for the Communists, Mr. Sharma said while External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had nine meetings with them on the nuclear deal, it was not clear what they wanted. “The anti-Americanism of the Communists cannot pressurise the Manmohan Singh Government,” he said, adding that they should have realised this by now.

DPCC president J. P. Agarwal said the proposed nuclear deal with the US was in the interest of the country as it would help ease the power shortage in the country and ensure fast development of the country. The Congress, he asserted, was committed to concluding the nuclear deal which was in the best interest of the country.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi