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India willing to destroy N-weapons if others did the same, says Vajpayee

India has offered to destroy its nuclear arsenal if the other nuclear states agreed to consider such a proposal, and said its recent nuclear tests were intended to shake these nations from complacency and accentuate the movement for global disarmament.

In a clear message to the five-member exclusive nuclear club on India's standpoint on nuclear disarmament even as it was under increasing pressure from them to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared that the country will take the initiative to destroy its weapons provided the other nuclear countries reciprocated. He said this while addressing a civic reception in his honour by the Indian community in Port Louis last night. Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam and his cabinet colleagues were present on the occasion.

Making it clear that India did not accept the monopoly over nuclear weapons by certain countries, the prime minister said, ''We will not accept nuclear apartheid being imposed on us. By the same rationale the whole world rejected racial apartheid practised by the erstwhile white regime of South Africa."

Stressing that India's decision to conduct nuclear tests were not taken overnight, Vajpayee said the country waited for nearly twenty four years -- the gap between first and next test -- to persuade the nuclear powers to give up their weapons. India also told them that the funds used for the exercise should be diverted to improve the lot of people in Third World countries in their fight against poverty, unemployment and illiteracy.

The nuclear powers spurned these overtures, forcing India to conduct the second test in May this year, he said.

Emphasising that the country's nuclear tests were not aimed directed or targeted against any nation, Vajpayee, however, said the nuclear powers should realise that India was a victim of external aggression thrice during the last three decades.

Maintaining that there was no tension between India and Pakistan now, the prime minister said both the countries are capable of settling their disputes through friendly dialogue. In an indirect reference at South African President Dr Nelson Mandela for his comments on the Kashmir issue at the just concluded NAM summit, the prime minister expressed surprise that other countries seemed to be more worried about the issue more than India.

Outlining the possible scope of discussions India proposed to have with Pakistan once the decks are cleared by the prime ministers of both the countries in New York by the end of this month, he said India's land was under occupation by others. ''I want to take them back in a peaceful way,'' he added.

On bilateral relations with Mauritius, the prime minister said he intended to give a new thrust to India's economic links by ensuring timely approvals for various projects under consideration. The Indian Ocean islands with its business-friendly climate could be a gateway for Indian companies to expand their presence in Africa, he said, adding, ''Together we must realise this potential''.

Mauritius is the second largest foreign investor in India next only to the United States, and investments from that country totalled around four billion US dollars.

UNI

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