External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that Indian foreign policy will continue to be governed by its national interests, and the government of India would not allow any external scrutiny of its strategic programme.
He was making a suo-moto statement in Lok Sabha on the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Co-operation deal on Tuesday.
"I would like to share with the House that the government of India has taken note of certain extraneous and prescriptive provisions in the legislation. We have always maintained that the conduct of foreign policy determined solely by our national interest is our sovereign right. We have also been clear that our strategic programme remains outside the purview of these discussions. We will not allow external scrutiny of, or interference with, the strategic programme," he said in a wirtten statement that was laid on the table of the House.
Addressing the concerns of the major opposition parties and its partner in the government Communist Party of India-Marxist, Mukherjee hoped that the reconciled bill known as '123 Agreement' would fully reflect the July 18 statement and the March 2 Separation Plan.
Mukherjee specifically mentioned the waivers by the US administration on certain provisions of the US Atomic Energy Act that allowed US-India cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear energy despite the fact that India refused to accept full scale safeguards and despite maintaining a strategic programme.
"We recognise the initiative that President Bush has taken to make these exceptions for India possible. We also note the bipartisan support that this initiative has garnered in the US Congress," he said.
He said that without cooperation in the field of energy, India would not be able to meet its energy targets in the years to come.
"India is today seriously pursuing several energy options, including clean coal technologies, exploitation of coal bed methane and gas hydrates, wind as well as solar power. India can today expand its access to other forms of energy, relying on market mechanisms to do so. Our access to nuclear energy is impeded by an international regime and requires a political solution consistent with our national security and energy requirements," he said.
The external affairs minister admitted that technology denial regimes have targeted India for last several decades and this must be dismantled so that our national development is unimpeded. He sought the support and cooperation of the whole House in the government's current endeavour.
"We are also committed to creating a climate where our scientists and technologists can participate in and contribute to our international initiatives in various fields. We have taken a big step forward towards that goal and I am sure that the House would continue to support us in that endeavour," he said.
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