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We have a big bomb now...: Vajpayee

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today asserted that India would not sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty or the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in its present form because these treaties were discriminatory in nature.

''There is no question of India accepting any treaty that is discriminatory in character. No one should have any illusions on this score'', he said in an interview to India Today.

Asked if his statement meant that India would go ahead and weaponise the nuclear devices it had exploded, Vajpayee said, ''You would have noted that neither my own statement of May 11 nor the longer official text released later that day has characterised the nuclear tests as 'peaceful nuclear tests'. Our intentions were, are and will always be peaceful. We have a big bomb now for which the necessary command and control system is also in place. Ours will never be weapons of aggression.''

On the price India would have to pay internationally for conducting nuclear tests, the prime minister said every decision had its consequences. ''I believe our decision to conduct the tests is in supreme national interest,'' he said, adding that the country would have to be prepared to face the consequences and overcome the challenge.

Defending the government's action, Vajpayee said, ''No price is high enough when it comes to securing national interests. We must be ready to face any eventuality.''

Referring to the sanctions imposed by certain countries on India, he said, ''The talk of sanctions does not stand the scrutiny of logic and fairness. Besides, it sounds hypocritical. Some of the countries which have talked of sanctions or have otherwise criticised our action have themselves not only conducted far more nuclear tests than we have done but they have also built huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons and delivery systems.''

He was confident that the sanctions would not hurt India. ''India will not be cowed down by any such threats and punitive steps. India has the sanction of her own past glory and future vision to become strong -- in every sense of the term.''

On whether the BJP would exploit the nuclear tests for political mileage, the prime minister said Indian democracy's greatest strength was that it had always put the nation above politics. He agreed with the suggestions that with the latest tests, India's nuclear establishment had come of age.

The prime minister said the nuclear tests were conducted keeping in view the commitment made to the people of India during the election. It was part of the national agenda for governance.

''I have been advocating the cause of India going nuclear for well over five decades. My party, the BJP, and earlier the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, had been raising this demand consistently and forcefully for long. Now that we are in the government, people expect us to translate our long-standing commitment into action. And we have showed them we mean business.''

Asked what were the compulsions for carrying out the tests, he said they were guided by long-term imperatives based on a sound appraisal of regional and global security realities. It was important for the country and the world to know that by conducting the latest tests, India has responded to a stark regional and global reality that has evolved over the past 50 years.

''We live in a world where India is surrounded by nuclear weaponry. No responsible government can formulate a security policy for the country on abstract principles, disregarding ground realities. Nor can policy be based on anything but the supreme consideration of national interests. The world knows the truth about the progress -- or, rather, the lack of it -- made by the nuclear powers in the direction of nuclear disarmament. The world community should appreciate the fact that India, the second most populous country on earth, waited for five decades before taking this step''.

Vajpayee said his government's policy was consistent with the nuclear disarmament policy that successive governments have followed. ''Like all previous governments, we too believe that India's national security, as also global security, will be increased in a nuclear weapons-free world''.

He said since 1968, all governments in India had acknowledged the need for keeping India's nuclear option open in view of the regional security environment. And successive governments had also been concerned that the present non-proliferation regime was singularly ineffective in preventing proliferation in one region and exacerbating India's security environment.

The prime minister said India had spelt out its concerns during the CTBT negotiations in 1994-96. His government's action had to be seen therefore as a minimal response necessary for addressing the growing concerns.

''We would have preferred the collective route to address these concerns. However, initiatives taken by India and other like-minded members were rejected by the nuclear weapon states and their allies. Our action therefore was measured and marked by restraint.''

Asked whether any worst case scenario had been worked out and if India could withstand the pressure, he said it was absolutely unwarranted to think in worst-case scenarios.

''I would like to assure the people of the world, especially in our part of the world, that there is no cause for worry at all, much less any alarm on account of India's action. All that India has done is conduct five tests. You place this fact in the context of the hundreds of nuclear tests that have been carried out by several countries so far and it becomes obvious that India's action does not in the least warrant consideration of worst-case scenarios.''

Regarding sanctions, the prime minister said the talk of sanctions did not stand the scrutiny of logic and fairness. ''Some of the countries which have talked of sanctions or have otherwise criticised our action, have themselves not only conducted far more nuclear tests than we have done, but they have also built huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons and delivery systems. Many of them are enjoying the shade provided by somebody else's nuclear weapon.''

UNI

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