A day after approval of India-specific safeguards agreement by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the BJP termed the government's move as virtually signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the agreement does not treat India as a nuclear state and prohibits it from conducting nuclear tests."From Indira Gandhi to Vajpayeeji, India had maintained that it will not sign the NPT. Yesterday, in a way, we have signed the NPT," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.He said the IAEA agreement does not treat India as a nuclear state. "There is nothing India-specific in the agreement. Whatever is written in the preamble is not part of the agreement. The operational part has the model which was prepared for non-nuclear states and is being applied to us," Javadekar said."We are now bound by the IAEA safeguard agreement in perpetuity. Whether we get uranium or not, whether we get the material or not, we have lost all rights to prevent IAEA inspections of our institutions for all times, and it will always be in their hands," he said."Even if the nuclear supply is stopped, the inspections will continue. This means nuclear supply is not in perpetuity, but inspection is in perpetuity," he added.Saying the BJP is not against partnership with the United States but is opposed to the nuclear agreement in its present form, Javadekar said, "The BJP has always said it wanted a strategic partnership with the US, but not strategic subservience. Yesterday's agreement is a testimony of our strategic subservience."
