India will not compromise on foreign policy : Congress

New Delhi, Jul 18 (UNI) The Congress today denied the allegation of the Left parties that the UPA government had sacrificed India's independent foreign policy for the sake of the nuclear deal with the United States.

''If India could exercise autonomy in its decision-making during the cold-war period, there is no reason to believe that today, when our strength as a global power is recognised, we can be coerced into following a foreign policy dictated by another country,'' AICC General Secretary in charge of Media Veerappa Moily told mediapersons.

He said the UPA government had continued to follow and build upon the basic tenets of India's independent foreign policy...a foreign policy of peace, non-alignment and autonomous choice based on national self interest and the expansion of India's strategic autonomy and capability.'' Mr Moily said the fundamental tenets of India's foreign policy have remained steadfast and unaltered despite the changing word order, and successive governments had reinforced these guiding principles.

''At the core is our independence in decision making on foreign policy issues. The principles of Panchsheel, enunciated by India's first Prime Minister are still relevant and we have, over the years, on every occasion, reiterated our commitment to an independent foreign policy and the strengthening of multilateral mechanisms and institutions. Mr Moily said India believed that multilateral and multi-polar solutions were the need of the hour for the world's major issues.

''Today's challenges - terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, climate change, energy security and food security - cut across borders and demand broad-based multilateral cooperation between nations and group of nations.'' UNI SH BDP RAI1855