By IANS
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday described as “totally wrong” allegations that the India-US civil nuclear deal would hurt the country’s nuclear programme.
“The propaganda that the nuclear deal will hurt our strategic programme is totally wrong,” the prime minister told the All India Congress Committee session here, departing from his prepared text.
“The agreement concerns only with the civilian side of our nuclear programme. It has no bearing on our strategic programme, which will remain intact,” he said.
“The propaganda that it will affect our sense of judgement and independence of our foreign policy is equally wrong,” he added. “I have repeatedly said in parliament that India is too big a country, we have the heritage of (Jawaharlal) Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Nobody can bent India anywhere.”
In his written speech, however, Manmohan Singh made a sedate reference to the controversial nuclear deal.
He said: “The nuclear agreement is an effort to open closed doors for us so that we can obtain nuclear fuel and technology from countries such as the US, Russia and France and remove the shortage of electricity in the country. You need to understand this reality and explain to our people.”
On Friday, India said it was going ahead with India-specific safeguards talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after the government’s communist allies who had been earlier opposed to the negotiations gave a half-hearted green signal.