PM unclear on India's status as n. weapons state: Dr Joshi

New Delhi, Mar 8 (UNI) Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi today said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on the India-US make deal was not clear about India's status as a nuclear weapons state and many vital aspects of the deal still needed amplification.

In his first reaction to the Prime Minister's statement in Parliament, Dr Joshi, himself a professor of nuclear physics, told UNI that the statement should have clarified on issues like whether there was any cap on the strategic nuclear programmes especially regarding the autonomy, to decide the nature of credible minimum deterrance.

Dr Joshi also described as ''sad'', the announcement by Dr Singh about the closure of CIRUS and Apsara reactors located at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. ''It would mean India's acceptance that our strategic nuclear experiments were in violation of the International Atomic Engergy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) although these reactors were developed by the Indian nuclear scientists when the IAEA and NPT were not in existence.'' ''This is a setback minimising the intrinsic value of scientific research and the hard work has been brought to a naught", he said.

The Prime Minister had stated in Parliament that it would be better to shut these reactors rather than allowing intrusive inspections in a nuclear facility of high national security importance. ''We are determined that such steps will not hinder ongoing Research and Development'', the Prime Minister had contended.

Following Dr Singh's statement, several BJP leaders had met at the residence of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee last night, but little was made public about the views of party leaders on the issue.

UNI MCN JN HT1915