New Delhi, March 5
On the eve of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s proposed statement in Parliament on the nuclear agreement with US President George W. Bush, the BJP today charged the UPA government of “surrendering” country’s interests to America on the issue of separating its nuclear plants as for civilian and defence purposes.
Senior BJP leader and former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh said it would result in shortfall of fissile material for nuclear weapons.
“The separation plan, drawn up by the government, will result in two-thirds of the nuclear power plants being placed under the IAEA safeguards. Clearly, this will result in a gap on the fissile-material availability for weapons purposes and civil purposes,” Mr Jaswant Singh told mediapersons here.
“It is our view that the government has surrendered on two important counts...placing its two-third nuclear plants under international safeguards and having less fissile material available for weapon purposes,” he asserted.
In view of this, the government needed to answer the questions whether India risked losing its nuclear autonomy by agreeing to place two-thirds of its nuclear reactors under the “perpetual safeguards” of the IAEA, a condition which did not apply to the five nuclear weapons states. Stating that the government owed an explanation on the issue, he said it must confirm that the “safeguards in perpetuity” would be locked in with fuel supply for the same length of time.
He said the government should come clear whether India now stood bound under the agreement to put all new imported reactors and fuel under the IAEA safeguards.
He, however, said the BJP welcomed the advancement achieved in India’s strategic ties with the US and claimed that it was a result of the initiatives of the NDA government that had started the talks on cooperation between the two countries in this field.
