Government’s Stand on CTBT - Cavalier Approach to National Security
30 Jul, 2000 · 454
Sharath Ramkumar is critical of the current nuclear policy riddled with ambivalence
Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, while intervening in a debate in the Rajya Sabha on November 23, said that India had placed a voluntary moratorium on conducting further tests, but the inherent right to conduct them was ‘not foreclosed or foregone’. He reiterated that
India
would not come in the way of implementing the CTBT. During Prime Minister Vajpayee’s recent visit to the
United States
, an official commitment was given not to conduct further nuclear tests. Therefore, the FM’s statement was re-stating the obvious. In September 1999, when the Vajpayee government was in a caretaker mode, the National Security Advisor had reportedly said that
India
was ready to sign the CTBT, which raised hackles from the Opposition. After returning to power in November 1999 the BJP-led NDA government made noises about evolving a consensus on the CTBT. When sections within the BJP, like Malkani and Dr. Joshi are opposed to CTBT, the repeated mention of a consensus, including the opposition, is hypocritical. Further, Parliament has been kept in the dark about the ten rounds of talks between Jaswant Singh and
US
Deputy Secretary of State, Strobe Talbott, on the nuclear issue. The government while trying to pretend that it is keeping its option open on the CTBT, has in reality agreed to honour it, and is now resorting to a policy of ambiguity as its best cover.
China
, and actually inducts other missiles like Akash, and Trishul into the armed forces, the nuclear weaponisation project would remain a pipe dream. While the government has rejected the NSAB (National Security Advisory Board) draft nuclear doctrine submitted to it in 1999, the Foreign Minister, in an interview to “The Hinduâ€Â
The NDA manifesto of 1999, National Agenda for Governance 1998 and the BJP election manifesto of 1998 talked of nuclear weaponisation. It is difficult to believe that the series of Pokhran-II tests and the latest Agni test (increasing its range to 2200 kms) would suffice to establish minimum nuclear deterrence. Whether the series of nuclear tests are enough to assure confidence and reliability in nuclear warheads constitutes a separate question. But the fact remains that, unless the government conducts more user trials of Agni and increases its range to counter
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