N-doctrine only a draft, not final document, says Vajpayee

Replying to the question about reaction of G-8 group to the doctrine, Vajpayee said he had not seen the statement, while reiterating that there was nothing new in the draft. He asserted India was for the destruction of nuclear weapons all over the world and had even given the call to have a world without nuclear weapons in a time-bound manner.

quot;We have to take care of the threat perception and deterioration in security environment. At the same time, there should be minimum nuclear deterrent,quot; the Prime Minister said while talking about India8217;s nuclear policy. He called for understanding against first use of nuclear weapons.

The interaction with the mediapersons was brief and the Prime Minister seemed relaxed. The Punjab Raj Bhavan where he stayed the night and addressed the news conference was without the usual crowd of the party workers. Vajpayee was accompanied by K. L. Sharma, the candidate from Chandigarh and Satya Pal Jain, the member of the dissolved Lok Sabha.

Commenting on the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, Vajpayee said there was a good response to the agenda set by the BJP-led alliance and the partners would contest the election jointly on the common manifesto.

He did not favour a candidate contesting from more than one constituency, saying such practices should be discouraged. It was said in context of Congress president Sonia Gandhi contesting from two places.

Commenting upon the challenge thrown by Sonia on the Bofors issue, he said the final papers were still to be received but it was clear from the CBI charge-sheet that quot;there was gol maal in the dealquot;.

Asked about the reference to Sonia8217;s origin in the NDA manifesto, he said only the persons of Indian origin should occupy high offices. On the Ram mandir issue, Vajpayee said it was with the court and verdict was awaited. quot;We would abide by the court verdict,quot; he said.

He also reiterated his commitment to secularism which, he said, was not a negative concept for the BJP but a positive attitude. The state should not have any religion of its own nor there be discrimination on the basis of religion.

Replying to a question about the adjudication of the river waters dispute between Punjab and Haryana and the construction of the Satluj Yamuna Link Canal, he was optimistic, saying if Cauvery dispute could be resolved, there was no reason why such irritants should continue. Such matters would be taken up after the poll.

He said the issue of the status of Chandigarh would also be decided after the election. He would visit Punjab shortly.