Kasturirangan cautions casualness on Nuke deal

New Delhi, Aug 17: Former ISRO Chief K Kasturirangan, while allaying fears about the Indo-US Nuclear deal and praising the government for having handled the issue well so far, cautioned against any future developments that could go against India.

''At present it has been dealt with well. One should not be unduly concerned. But that doesn't mean that that one should n't tread a cautious path. If there is anything likely to happen, the Parliament is alert,'' the noted space scientist said during a short duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the July 18, 2005, Indo-US nuclear agreement.

While explaining the technical issues involved in the deal, Dr Kasturirangan, who has played an important role in the nation's space technology, said there was no major thing that one should worry about.

''The deal at the present level of processing in the US and the discussion in India is such that there is no major thing that one should worry about. However, we have to be continuously alert...'' He said Indian science was at a stage where it did not have to get anything from the US or any other country. The US was looking at India as a partner, particularly after 9/11 when both countries understood each other's security interests in the new global order.

''We are no longer looking at the US for getting something.

We are looking at being equal partners...There is no question of India linking itself with the US President or the Congress,'' he said while seeking to allay the fears of the members on various issues, including unilateral moratorium, the separation of military and civil nuclear facilities and compromising with the country's strategic interests.

He described it as a ''significant initiative'' which was taken by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the form of two lines, and carried forward by the present government which subsequently took the form of paragraphs and later became text.

The present situation (the debate) was because of the nature of the deal,'' Dr Kasturirangan added.

UNI