Nuke tests were to silence foes: Vajpayee

Extending the slogan coined by former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Vajpayee proclaimed, “Jai jawan, jai kisan, jai vigyan” in recognition of the role played by scientists and engineers in mastering the latest in nuclear technology.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister arrived at Khetolai in a helicopter from Jaisalmer, accompanied by Defence ResearchDevelopment Organisation chief Abdul Kalam, Defence Minister George Fernandes, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, political advisor to PM Pramod Mahajan, and Congress leader Bhuvanesh Chaturvedi. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat with state officials and BJP leaders were also present.

The entourage, with media persons, was taken to the place where the thermonuclear device was tested. A crater about 200 feet across and equally deep could be seen at the site. Tin sheds and hutments, set up to give the site the appearance of a village, lay shattered around the area.

He did not meet or wait for the protesting Khetolai villagers to hand over their memorandum demanding compensation for the damage caused by the blasts and the ailments allegedly caused by radiation. Speaking to a gathering at Pokharan, Vajpayee told the people that he had just returned from the test site and had seen for himself that there was no radiation in the area. He said foreign agencies were responsible forthe false propaganda about ailments being caused by radiation.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah’s rousing speech drew a huge applause from the gathering. Using the occasion to attack Pakistan, he said that Kashmiris had opted for Gandhi’s India instead of Jinnah’s Pakistan and that Pakistan should always remember this. “Ram is not only the Hindus’ God but of the whole world… and he is my God too,” he said.

Later, addressing a brief press conference after the meeting, the Prime Minister said that India was willing to discuss certain provisions of Comprehensive Test Ban treaty (CTBT). He, however, declined to divulge the specific provisions that were to be taken up.

Asked about recall of India’s envoy to Beijing, Vajpayee said that he was not aware of the development.

As for the issue of compensation to villagers of Khetolai for damage to their houses and property, the Prime Minister said that the matter was for the state government to consider.

Vajpayee said that New Delhi hadtaken diplomatic initiatives to explain the reasons for conducting the nuclear tests to other countries so that those who had taken certain adverse measures against India could see the rationale behind it.

Meanwhile, in an interview published in Newsweek, Vajpayee has said that India will now exercise “voluntary restraint” after its nuclear tests and asserted that economic sanctions will not “weaken our resolve or force us to retreat.”

“Economic sanctions that are not reasonable and just cannot hurt us at all. India will both face and successfully overcome the difficulties,” he added.