No ''carbon copy'' nuke safeguards for India: PM

New Delhi, Mar 11 (UNI) India will not accept the ''carbon copy'' of any existing IAEA safeguards for its civilian nuclear facilities identified under the Indo-US deal, which addresses the needs of the country without compromising its nuclear doctrine and minimum credible deterrence, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured Parliament today.

''Our safeguards will not be a carbon copy of model one or model two. It will be a unique safeguards agreement'' that would virtually recognise India as a nuclear weapon state, Dr Singh said in his reply to a day-long debate in the two Houses on the deal, which has come under flak from the Left and the BJP-led NDA alike.

Asserting ''India will not accept the safeguards meant for non-nuclear weapon states'' which were signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), he said the India-specific safeguards would be on the lines of those signed by the US and four other first nuclear weapon states as there was already an ''implicit recognition'' across the world of New Delhi's nuclear weapon capabilities.

The five ...xxxxx Editors: Pl pick up from para one of PAR14, NUCLEAR-PM TWO LS.

UNI FZ/SH/SN PA HT2225