Uproar in Indian parliament over Pakistan’s N-plans
By Jawed Naqvi
NEW DELHI, July 26: India’s parliament was in turmoil on Wednesday after Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee turned down opposition’s demand to comment on Pakistan’s nuclear expansion plans, saying a statement on the issue was a serious matter and could not be produced like instant coffee.
Opposition MPs had sought the government’s point of view on media reports that Pakistan was building a 1000MW nuclear power station which was capable of producing material for 50 nuclear bombs.
Mr Digvijay Singh, minister in waiting for President Gen Pervez Musharraf during the Agra summit, raised the issue. He wanted India to have a ‘rethink’ on the US civil nuclear deal which prescribed freezing of weapons programme, an issue all the more serious in view of Pakistan building a huge nuclear capacity.
He was joined by Mr Shahid Siddiqui of Samajwadi Party and BJP’s Dr Murli Manohar Joshi who protested against the “double standard” prescribed by the United States for India and Pakistan.
Mr. Mukherjee’s terse comments were one among several issues concerning ties with Pakistan that came up for discussion, mostly related to the Mumbai blasts.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil said violence by militants had come down marginally in Kashmir but their alleged influx from across the LoC showed an increase. Mr. Patil also said that two persons nabbed in Jammu and Kashmirfor their alleged links with terrorists belong to Rashtriya Rifles, and not to the regular army.
“They are not armymen but from RR battalions,” he said in the Rajya Sabha, intervening in a short duration discussion on the Mumbai blasts.
The two were arrested on Saturday for suspected links with a commander of the Lashker-i-Taiba.
