'Nuke deal not at the cost of nuclear sovereignity'

New Delhi, June 1: The BJP today asserted that India must maintain its nuclear sovereignty while signing the civilian nuclear deal with the US.

Asked to comment on the ongoing talks between the two countries in New Delhi to thrash out final differences on the landmark deal, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said the BJP-led NDA government, which conducted Pokhran II tests, was very consistent in its nuclear strategy. ''We had the best of relations with the US but that never hindered India from pursuing its Independent policy on security issues,'' he said.

He said soon after the Pokhran II tests India came out with a unilateral declaration of no first use, moratorium on future tests and no use of nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear country. The country had adhered to its declaration and India was accepted as a responsible nuclear nation.

This declaration would not have stopped India from conducting future tests if the situation and threat perception in the region demanded. ''But if you sign the agreement, India will have to forego this option while the US will be free to conduct future tests and this is not the way to treat India differently,'' Mr Prasad said.

Mr Prasad, who held the Coal portfolio in the NDA government, said nuclear fuel should not be a major reason for signing the bilateral agreement because nuclear energy accounts for only three per cent of India's energy production. The country had huge coal reserves to last another 200 years and the agreement should not be in a haste. ''Had the Opposition not bind the government in Parliament on the issue, the government would have signed the agreement by now,'' he said.

UNI