BJP seeks explanation for not test-firing Agni-III

BANGALORE: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday claimed that the UPA
Government was keeping the test-firing of Agni-III missile pending for the last two years and demanded an explanation for this "self-imposed restraint".

Quoting reliable reports, BJP President Rajnath Singh told a news conference here that the delay in giving the go-ahead for the test-firing had resulted in Pakistan leaving India far behind in the area of intermediate range ballistic missile.

He said this was leading to great anxiety and concern among military planners and scientists.

The BJP chief said there is no missile control regime in the world at present because India is not a signatory to CTBT and NPT but Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee cites self-imposed restraint as the reason for not giving green signal to the test-firing.

“The country would like to know the reasons behind the self-imposed restraint. China and North Korea are testing this (type of) missile. Pakistan has deployed more than 100 Chinese missiles with nuclear warheads", he said.