A former senior DRDO scientist's contention that the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests had not met the desired objective on Thursday did not receive much attention from the government which appeared to be dismissive of it. "Somebody has made a statement. I was puzzled by the statement. If you are not puzzled,you are a genius," Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters when asked to comment on the claim made by K Santhanam,who had been involved in the Pokhran-II tests. "The government will find out (the veracity of Santhanam's statement)," he said indicating he found little merit in the scientist's claim. Santhanam has said that the thermonuclear or hydrogen bomb in May 1998 was of low yield and not the one that would meet the country's strategic objectives. He said India needed to conduct more atomic tests and should not sign CTBT. The scientist's version was contested by Brajesh Mishra,National Security Advisor in the Vajpayee government,who said R Chidambaram,then chief of the Department of Atomic Energy,had reported to him on May 13 that year that all parameters had been met in the five tests carried out and there was no need to undertake a sixth one. "It was clear to us that the thermonuclear as also the nuclear tests have been successful," Mishra said. Commenting on Santhanam's remarks,Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta said India's nuclear deterrence capabilities were "proven and capable enough". "As far we are concerned,we go by the views of the scientists. They have given us certain capability and that is capable enough to provide deterrence and they are proven," he said when asked about the capabilities of India's nuclear arsenal. Pointing out that India follows the 'no-first strike' policy,the Naval Chief said "we are a nation that maintains a credible deterrence and that is more than enough to deter anybody." Santhanam contended that the international seismological community had made measurements and come to the conclusion that the yield from the device was below what was claimed by India. He said no country in the world has ever managed to get its thermonuclear weapon right in just one test. "I believe in the option that if the opportunity comes we should conduct another test. That has been my stand.I have made it very clear for years," he said. Santhanam maintained that India should desist from signing CTBT as it needed to conduct more thermonuclear tests. His view was shared by nuclear scientist Subramaniam who said "there was something wrong with the seismic signals which seemed pretty weak to me then.so I would tend to agree with Santhanam".
