India will not lose its nuclear 'swaraj': Manmohan
'This will be the underlying approach when we negotiate the bilateral 123 Agreement, which will form the basis of our civil nuclear cooperation,' he added.
New Delhi, - Admitting that 'difficult negotiations' lie ahead as India and the US work out a bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday assured parliament yet again that that nothing will be done that can 'dilute, compromise or cast a shadow' on the country's strategic programme and its vital national interests.
Underlining the 'complexity' of international negotiations, the prime minister said that there were 'areas of concern' in the enabling legislation passed by the US Congress recently and he will seek clarifications on some issues with the US administration as the two sides finalise a 123 bilateral agreement.
'Safeguarding the autonomy of the strategic programme is a solemn duty of this government,' Manmohan Singh said while intervening in a discussion on the India-US nuclear deal in the Lok Sabha -.
'I repeat, nothing will be done that will compromise, dilute or cast a shadow on India's full autonomy in the management of its security and national interests,' he said alluding to Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani's attack on the nuclear deal in the lower house.
'Our strategic programme will not be subject to external scrutiny or interference of any kind. So Shri Advanji need not worry about India losing its nuclear swaraj -,' said Manmohan Singh in his speech laced with pointed asides at Advani, politely telling him that his party's design to topple the government by raising the issue of nuclear deal will not succeed.
Advani accused the government of accepting a deal with the US that will end up 'first capping, then rolling back and ultimately eliminating India's nuclear weapons capability.'
In his unsparing critique of the deal, he said: 'As far as I understand... The Prime Minister cannot square the circle. There is no alternative but to reject the idea to enter into the deal.'
'I repeat, no legislation of a foreign country can take away from us our sovereign right to conduct foreign relations, be it with Iran, or with other countries, solely in accordance with our national interests,' Manmohan Singh said. This was clearly a reference to an 'extraneous' clause in the US legislation that seeks to link New Delhi's position on the Iranian nuclear issue with the India-US civilian nuclear cooperation.
Manmohan Singh reiterated that India will find it difficult to and cannot 'accept any such conditions' that are outside the July 18, 2005 understanding and March 2, 2006 separation plan of its civilian and military facilities presented by India.
'This objective can be hindered by extraneous issues that were not part of the understandings in the July 18 Joint Statement and the March 2 Separation Plan,' he said in a reference to some provisions in the US legislation that seek to limit India's option of nuclear testing and place restrictions on transfers of reprocessing technologies.
'Clearly, difficult negotiations lie ahead. Our broad approach and expectations of these negotiations are a matter of public record.
The House can rest assured that in these negotiations, the commitments and assurances I gave to parliament on Aug 17, 2006 will constitute our guidelines,' the prime minister added.
'However, there are areas, which continue to be a cause for concern, and we will need to discuss them with the US administration before the bilateral cooperation agreement can be finalized,' he admitted.
Stressing that what India is negotiating with the US is a civil nuclear cooperation agreement that will end New Delhi's decades-long nuclear isolation and help the country achieve energy security, Manmohan Singh reiterated that India had 'never discussed with the US or any other country the content and scope of our strategic programme.'
'I have said this before and I repeat again that our strategic programme will respond to our concerns and it will not be subject to any interactions or scrutiny of any country,' he said.
'I have assured the House before that in going ahead with this programme of civilian nuclear cooperation, we will do nothing which will hurt the ability of our department of atomic energy to pursue research and development; to pursue the development of fast breeder reactors; and to pursue the complete three-stage fuel cycle from uranium to plutonium to uranium,' the prime minister said.
'I can assure the house that I can stand by this commitment,' he stressed.
Manmohan Singh underlined that despite India being a nuclear weapon state, the US had agreed to civil nuclear cooperation with it and 'this recognition has come totally from the US.'
'We will not be considered a nuclear weapon state in the sense of the term in which the term is defined in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty -. Therefore, for all practical purposes we are here and it is a recognition which comes totally from the US.'
'Russia, France, United Kingdom and many other countries are willing to recognise that India is a nuclear weapon state and that this nuclear programme will not be subject to any extraneous, intrusive supervision or monitoring is a commitment which I gave when I spoke on many occasions and I repeat that assurance,' he added.
Acknowledging that there are 'continuing areas of concern,' the prime minister shared with the house the government's overall approach as it starts third round of negotiations with the US on a bilateral 123 agreement in January next year. He also mentioned that while 'the outcomes are not entirely predictable nor always under control' in international negotiations, New Delhi 'can't violate basic principles' and there has to be 'reasoned and transparent calculation of risks and opportunities' while New Delhi negotiates a nuclear agreement with Washington.
'...but evidently we cannot agree to anything that is not consistent with our vital national interests, including protecting the autonomy of our strategic programme, maintaining the integrity of the three-stage nuclear power programme and safeguarding indigenous research and development, including our Fast Breeder Programme.'
'This will be the underlying approach when we negotiate the bilateral 123 Agreement, which will form the basis of our civil nuclear cooperation,' he added.
The enabling legislation passed by the US Congress recently allowing for resumption of civilian nuclear cooperation between the US and India will be signed into law by President George Bush in Washington later in the day.
'This will be the underlying approach when we negotiate the bilateral 123 Agreement, which will form the basis of our civil nuclear cooperation,' he added.
New Delhi, - Admitting that 'difficult negotiations' lie ahead as India and the US work out a bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday assured parliament yet again that that nothing will be done that can 'dilute, compromise or cast a shadow' on the country's strategic programme and its vital national interests.
Underlining the 'complexity' of international negotiations, the prime minister said that there were 'areas of concern' in the enabling legislation passed by the US Congress recently and he will seek clarifications on some issues with the US administration as the two sides finalise a 123 bilateral agreement.
'Safeguarding the autonomy of the strategic programme is a solemn duty of this government,' Manmohan Singh said while intervening in a discussion on the India-US nuclear deal in the Lok Sabha -.
'I repeat, nothing will be done that will compromise, dilute or cast a shadow on India's full autonomy in the management of its security and national interests,' he said alluding to Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani's attack on the nuclear deal in the lower house.
'Our strategic programme will not be subject to external scrutiny or interference of any kind. So Shri Advanji need not worry about India losing its nuclear swaraj -,' said Manmohan Singh in his speech laced with pointed asides at Advani, politely telling him that his party's design to topple the government by raising the issue of nuclear deal will not succeed.
Advani accused the government of accepting a deal with the US that will end up 'first capping, then rolling back and ultimately eliminating India's nuclear weapons capability.'
In his unsparing critique of the deal, he said: 'As far as I understand... The Prime Minister cannot square the circle. There is no alternative but to reject the idea to enter into the deal.'
'I repeat, no legislation of a foreign country can take away from us our sovereign right to conduct foreign relations, be it with Iran, or with other countries, solely in accordance with our national interests,' Manmohan Singh said. This was clearly a reference to an 'extraneous' clause in the US legislation that seeks to link New Delhi's position on the Iranian nuclear issue with the India-US civilian nuclear cooperation.
Manmohan Singh reiterated that India will find it difficult to and cannot 'accept any such conditions' that are outside the July 18, 2005 understanding and March 2, 2006 separation plan of its civilian and military facilities presented by India.
'This objective can be hindered by extraneous issues that were not part of the understandings in the July 18 Joint Statement and the March 2 Separation Plan,' he said in a reference to some provisions in the US legislation that seek to limit India's option of nuclear testing and place restrictions on transfers of reprocessing technologies.
'Clearly, difficult negotiations lie ahead. Our broad approach and expectations of these negotiations are a matter of public record.
The House can rest assured that in these negotiations, the commitments and assurances I gave to parliament on Aug 17, 2006 will constitute our guidelines,' the prime minister added.
'However, there are areas, which continue to be a cause for concern, and we will need to discuss them with the US administration before the bilateral cooperation agreement can be finalized,' he admitted.
Stressing that what India is negotiating with the US is a civil nuclear cooperation agreement that will end New Delhi's decades-long nuclear isolation and help the country achieve energy security, Manmohan Singh reiterated that India had 'never discussed with the US or any other country the content and scope of our strategic programme.'
'I have said this before and I repeat again that our strategic programme will respond to our concerns and it will not be subject to any interactions or scrutiny of any country,' he said.
'I have assured the House before that in going ahead with this programme of civilian nuclear cooperation, we will do nothing which will hurt the ability of our department of atomic energy to pursue research and development; to pursue the development of fast breeder reactors; and to pursue the complete three-stage fuel cycle from uranium to plutonium to uranium,' the prime minister said.
'I can assure the house that I can stand by this commitment,' he stressed.
Manmohan Singh underlined that despite India being a nuclear weapon state, the US had agreed to civil nuclear cooperation with it and 'this recognition has come totally from the US.'
'We will not be considered a nuclear weapon state in the sense of the term in which the term is defined in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty -. Therefore, for all practical purposes we are here and it is a recognition which comes totally from the US.'
'Russia, France, United Kingdom and many other countries are willing to recognise that India is a nuclear weapon state and that this nuclear programme will not be subject to any extraneous, intrusive supervision or monitoring is a commitment which I gave when I spoke on many occasions and I repeat that assurance,' he added.
Acknowledging that there are 'continuing areas of concern,' the prime minister shared with the house the government's overall approach as it starts third round of negotiations with the US on a bilateral 123 agreement in January next year. He also mentioned that while 'the outcomes are not entirely predictable nor always under control' in international negotiations, New Delhi 'can't violate basic principles' and there has to be 'reasoned and transparent calculation of risks and opportunities' while New Delhi negotiates a nuclear agreement with Washington.
'...but evidently we cannot agree to anything that is not consistent with our vital national interests, including protecting the autonomy of our strategic programme, maintaining the integrity of the three-stage nuclear power programme and safeguarding indigenous research and development, including our Fast Breeder Programme.'
'This will be the underlying approach when we negotiate the bilateral 123 Agreement, which will form the basis of our civil nuclear cooperation,' he added.
The enabling legislation passed by the US Congress recently allowing for resumption of civilian nuclear cooperation between the US and India will be signed into law by President George Bush in Washington later in the day.