No Indo-US deal without Parliament debate: Vajpayee

New Delhi, July 6: Concerned about the subtle attempt to change the long held Indian nuclear position to comply with the US demands at the Indo-US nuclear negotiations, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today said there can be no bilateral agreement between the two countries unless it was thoroughly discussed in Parliament.

The former PM's statement was released at a specially convened news conference at the BJP headquarters by his former Cabinet colleagues Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie apprehending that the timing of the Constitution of the Task Force a month ago by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to review the existing policy on disarmament, non-proliferation and other security issues was a matter of concern.

The ostensible purpose behind the setting up of this Task Force was obviously to mend the Indian policies to Hyde Act which was designed to stymie the development of India's nuclear weapons capability.

There is a huge gap between the Indian views on nuclear issues and the Hyde act which cannot be bridged without compromising India's national security. The intention of the US is to bring India to the ambit of Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which India has not signed. India has maintained voluntary moratorium on future nuclear tests and India was free to resume tests if it was necessary in view of the changed circumstances in the region. However if the Indo-US nuclear deal was signed the Hyde Act will ensure that India lost this option forever even if other countries were to go ahead with the tests, Mr Vajpayee said.

The US can also insist on the right of return of nuclear materials and equipment given to India former PM added. The Hyde Act also required that if the US terminated the nuclear transfers, it will seek to prevent such transfers from all other sources also.

Clearly the operationalisation of the nuclear deal within the framework of the Hyde Act will require a change in India's policy on testing.

UNI

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