Pranab snubs Marxists on nuclear doctrine

Snubbing the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the Lok Sabha yesterday, Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said the country had rejected that party's nuclear doctrine which disfavours India having nuclear weapons but has no problem with China possessing the bomb.

"I know your nuclear doctrine. India has rejected your nuclear doctrine," the minister, who was fielded by the ruling United Progressive Alliance to defend the government on the foreign policy debate, said while responding to the interruptions of CPI-M leader Basudeb Acharia.

Taking a dig at the former allies of the Congress, Mukherjee said the leftists advocated a nuclear-free South Asia, which effectively meant that India and Pakistan should not have nuclear weapons while China and others could have them.

Mukherjee was interrupted by Acharia as he asserted that India has no intention of signing the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the only legitimate fora for deliberating nuclear issues are the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

India, he added, has already got a clean waiver from the NSG for civilian nuclear cooperation with the world.

The left parties, which withdrew support to the previous UPA government protesting against the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, fared badly in the Lok Sabha elections.