Prime Minister's
reply to the discussion in Sir, As this long discussion comes to a close, I wish to thank the honourable members who have participated in the debate. The House is unanimous in felicitating the scientists, engineers and defence personnel who contributed to the success of the tests. There is almost total unanimity that if there are economic sanctions, if loans from International Financial Institutions are stopped or if there are other attacks on India's economic sovereignty, we will face them together. A question has been raised - why? I recall the discussion on the first test in 1974 and Indrajit Gupta would remember it as well as he was also present. There is no difference between what I said then and what I say now. Mrs. Gandhi gave the go ahead and we welcomed it along with the entire nation. It was not a collective decision nor was the opposition consulted formally. But it was a decision based on considerations of national security and provided an opportunity to our scientists. She did not even make a statement, some other minister did so and we were not dissatisfied. There is an indication from Pakistan that in 1974 they could not respond as they were not ready. Some members say that Pakistan's tests were in response to our tests. I ask them: Can you do these tests in 16 days? You can not and there are people here who know that this is not possible. Preparations for these have gone on for years. Today there is a news that a long range missile has been tested. All this has been going on for quite some time. I did not take a decision to test one fine day. 50 years of hard work and determination are behind these tests. Our scientists and jawans have toiled in the scorching heat of Pokhran with only one feeling - national security and pride. There can be differences in a democracy but on vital matters of national security we are all together. Rajiv Gandhi said in his remarks at the Press Club on 11 October 1985: "'As I have said on a number of occasions, we would not let New Delhi or any other city be flattened out .... Pakistan's nuclear programme is partly financed from abroad and if nuclear weapons are developed, they will be shared....we are not going to wait a number of measures can be taken without actually producing nuclear weapons." This shows that the Government was concerned about these developments. Meanwhile, the great powers continued stockpiling nuclear weapons and did not heed our calls for a time-bound elimination of nuclear weapons and tried to impose a discriminatory treaty on us. We decided together not to sign the CTBT and keep our options open. In addition to what we learnt later, inputs came from consultations with scientists on what steps to take. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction. They are meant for self-defence. Let our adversaries know that we have them and that they should not dare attack us. In 50 years, this country which has always given message of peace and has never sought anybody's territory has been attacked thrice. A nation of 100 crores cannot depend on charity for its national security. We are for friendship but on the basis of justice and mutual respect. We have never sought to take undue advantage of our size, the Gujral doctrine is partly based on this. But this doctrine did not work with Pakistan. They did not let it happen. Their support to terrorism in India continued. We are ready to take the talks forward and resolve outstanding issues but the Dhaka understanding has not been honoured. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's offer of yesterday is good. As I said once to a Pakistani politician, we can change history but we cannot change geography. India and Pakistan are bound together by geography. I want to make one thing very clear to my friends in Pakistan. One often hears from people who come back from a visit to Pakistan that there is a sense of insecurity that India has not accepted Pakistan's existence. There is no basis for this feeling. We want Pakistan to prosper. India and Pakistan should work together to eliminate poverty, disease and illiteracy not only from this region but throughout the world, I told reporters yesterday that the news of the Pakistani tests did not come as a surprise and this vindicates out decision to test. We have other problems but their tests arc India specific. When we call for a nuclear weapon free world, our motives are questioned. We would like Pakistan to join us in working towards this end. There is support for our position - stated or unstated - in the countries of the Third World. The majority of mankind wants peace in a world without nuclear weapons. We do not differentiate between domestic security and global security. But we should not be taken for a ride ("Should not burn our hands while performing a yajna"). I want to refer Mr. Deve Gowda to the 1996 JD Manifesto. "We will formally give a pledge of no first use of nuclear capability to Pakistan." I say to him that you have to first develop this capability before you can offer this pledge. There was a general consensus on developing this capability. The question was "when". After yesterday's events, this should no longer be an issue. If some of my own colleagues did not know about our decision, it does not mean that I do not have confidence in them. We could not consult widely and very few people knew about it. As somebody said that everything is leaked here, including entire reports of inquiry commissions. That we were able to maintain secrecy is a sign of national strength and shows that on vital matters we can sacrifice and we can be responsible. I was distressed to hear accusations of politicisation. I have never kept party before nation in my 40 years in the opposition and will never do it as Prime Minister. Nobody should doubt my intentions. I did not ask such questions either in 1971 or in 1974. I called the liberation of Bangladesh "epoch-making". Mrs Gandhi called for elections, we lost. Elections are fought and lost governments come and go but the nations interests should be paramount. I am glad that people are carefully reading the National Agenda for Governance and keeping a watch on our performance. But this agenda should not be misinterpreted. The agenda talks of preparedness of the armed forces, the proposed NSC and the review of the nuclear policy but it does not say that the review will wait till the armed forces are better equipped or the NSC is formed. We are disappointed that US has displayed a lack of appreciation of
India's legitimate security concerns. I wish to reiterate Government's commitment to
engage with all principal interlocutors in a responsible dialogue. We remain ready to
discuss and explain our position. Since 11 May, Government have taken certain initiatives:
These initiatives address substantially, a number of concerns expressed by other countries. Concern has been expressed by some Hon'ble Members regarding China's reaction to our decision. Let me assure this House that we seek good relations with all our neighbours, including China, our largest neighbour. India and China are two of the world's largest and most populous countries. We are linked through history and geography. We believe that the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, jointly enunciated by India and China, are of continuing relevance to the development of our relations. India, like China, is engaged in the task of economic development and realisation of the legitimate aspirations of her people. Our bilateral trade and economic cooperation has grown significantly. There is considerable potential to expand our economic and commercial cooperation. But we have some concerns. We would like the Chinese side to appreciate that our concerns need to be addressed in a meaningful manner with a view to finding early resolution. There are issues relating to India's sovereignty, territorial integrity and security that have been reflected at various levels, including highest levels. The Indian people must feel assured that friendship with China will be a factor for peace and stability and will contribute to enhancing our security. On the boundary question, we recognise that a resolution requires time and patience. But progress can, and should, be made. Our concerns regarding China's defence cooperation with Pakistan remain. Unlike India-China relations, which have shown improvement despite the difficulties of the past, Pakistan remains unreconciled to good relations with India. Our view in regard to external military assistance to Pakistan has been consistent over the last fifty years. Given Pakistan's approach to India, assistance in the defence field to Pakistan affects India's security directly and adversely. The Chinese side should pay attention to the depth of feeling on the Indian side. On our part, we do not seek a confrontation with China. We seek a relationship in which both sides are responsive to each other's concerns. We believe that dialogue is the key to understanding; understanding is the key to resolution of differences; and resolution of differences is the key to good relations. We remain committed to the process of dialogue to resolve outstanding differences and to the development of friendly, cooperative, good neighbourly and mutually beneficial relationship with China. I am sure that even these who oppose actions would understand our position. We are a multi-religious and multi-linguistic notion. I was listening
to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's provocative speech on TV last night. He does not
realise that India has millions of Muslim citizens who enjoy equal rights, There is no
need to create such an atmosphere. If I were to be forced to do such thing, I would prefer
to resign. |