Click to play videoNew Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made it clear on Thursday that India would make its 'own assessment' of its nuclear weapons programme in this 'uncertain and unpredictable world' and said that must remain the 'cardinal principle' of the country's nuclear policy.
Replying to a day-long debate on Indo-US nuclear deal in Rajya Sabha, the Prime Minister said, "While India remained committed to total nuclear disarmament, in this uncertain world, unpredictable world, we have legitimate concerns."
The Prime Minister said energy production was the primary motivation of India's nuclear programme. "We should be able to make effective use of nuclear energy in economic scale. I am aware of the risks and I am willing to take the risks for India's sake," he said.
"It has been my effort to do my best to serve the vital interests of the country," the PM said, adding that nuclear energy will provide the final answers to India's self-sufficiency.
"India needs energy to sustain growth. The nuclear option will give us more security. The motivation behind the nuclear programme is to generate energy," he insisted.
Agreeing that many of the concerns expressed by the Opposition and the scientific community are genuine, he said: "Negotiations with the US has not led to any basic change in the orientation of our foreign policy."
"I did convey to US President George W Bush that regime change is not viewed favourably in India," he said. "We haven't allowed any country, including the US, to influence our foreign policy," the Prime Minister said, adding there have neither been, nor will there be any compromise.
Dr Singh said there are many areas where India and US have differences. "We haven't shied away in expressing these differences to the UN, US and other countries," he said.
He, however, noted that good relation with the US is 'in our best interest'. Still, India will retain the nuclear weapons autonomy. "No one can take away sovereignism from us," the PM asserted, adding that he would not do anything to undermine India's security.
"The nuclear option will give us security," he said, adding, "India's nuclear weapons programme depends on our own assessment and this will be the cardinal principle of the nuclear policy." The Prime Minister reiterated that sensitive nuclear technologies are not covered in the separation plan and, hence, cannot be under any safeguards.
The Prime Minister said: "We have made it clear to the US that India's strategic programme is totally outside the purview of the July 18 statement."
"There is no question of American inspectors roaming around our nuclear facilities," he said, referring to areas that do not come within the India specific agreement with the IAEA. "There is no question of India joining the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state," he said.
The Prime Minister said in the event of disruption of supplies, India would have the option to take remedial action. He said there was no question of accepting nuclear inspectors from third countries outside the framework of the India specific safeguards agreement with IAEA.
"India will not go beyond the unilateral voluntary moratorium (on nuclear testing)" as specified in the July 18 statement and the separation plan," the Prime Minister, said. "This alone will be the acceptable basis for nuclear cooperation with the US," he said.
"We seek the removal of the ban from all aspects of technology sharing in civil nuclear sector. We will not agree to any dilutions to seek benefits of civil nuclear deal," the PM noted.
The Prime Minister categorically said that "India is not going to accept any moratorium on fissile material production," and added: "Our commitment on non-discriminatory global nuclear disarmament remains unchanged."
He said he conveyed to US President last month that the deal should stick to the July statement. "India cannot and is not prepared to additional commitments," he said, adding that the US President has given him an assurance that it is not his intention to shift goalpost.
"The clearance of the nuke deal will lead to dismantling of technology denial regime," he said.
Singh said he would hold discussions with the Atomic Energy Commission and a group of renowned scientists who had raised certain issues to evolve a broad-based national consensus.
"We will not accept any condition that go beyond the July 18 statement," he said, adding in the event of any 'extraneous' conditionality in the US legislation, the government would 'draw its own conclusion' if it was not in conformity with the assurance made to Parliament and to people.
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