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Security Council seat backing due to nuke status: Fernandes

Union Defence Minister George Fernandes has said that support from three permanent members of the United Nations Security Council for India's candidature in the world body was a direct consequence of the country's status as a nuclear power and a sound defence doctrine of minimum deterrence.

He was addressing members of Parliament of the National Democratic Alliance at a dinner meeting hosted by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to commemorate the second anniversary of Operation Shakti. Fernandes is also the convenor of the NDA.

He said the country had seen many successes in the fields of defence, diplomacy and development.

Operation Shakti, conducted at Pokhran two years ago, combined with Operation Vijay in Kargil a year later, had made India stronger and self-confident propelling the country's standing at a higher global level.

Taking a dig at the Congress stand on the issue, Fernandes said the leading Opposition party can't make up its mind on whether or not India needs a nuclear deterrent. ''The rest of the world has accepted our view that India has a right to defend herself the way we think best,'' he said.

UNI

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