Indian PM says foreign policy based on national consensus

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday that closer relations between New Delhi and Washington did not compromise India's honor or its pursuit of an independent foreign policy.

Rebutting the opposition charge that India and the US were forging a military alliance, Manmohan Singh said in his reply to a debate in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament), "There is nothing wrong in our seeking closer relations with the US. It will not affect India's honor or sovereignty."

Manmohan Singh paid a state visit to the United States on July 18-20 and signed a number of agreements on cooperation in various fields, including the civilian use of nuclear fuels.

"There has been no military alliance between India and the US," he clarified while alluding to the Defense Framework Agreement India and the US have signed.

Responding to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's demand for national debate on "a consensual nuclear policy," Manmohan Singh said the India-US nuclear pact didn't compromise national security and was designed to widen New Delhi's options in achieving national security. "The UPA's foreign policy is based on national consensus," he said.

"We are following the policies of the National Democratic Alliance (the BJP-led alliance that was defeated by the UPA in elections last year) in seeking closer relations with the US," he asserted.

"The purpose was to acquire for India a larger space to achieve our national goals of eradicating poverty and illiteracy. Our aim is to grow in a multi-polar world," Manmohan Singh said while speaking about his recent discussions with US President George Bush.

Like the opposition party, the Left MPs were equally scathing in their attack on Manmohan Singh for seeking closer relations with the United States. Communist Party of India MP Prabodh Panda charged that New Delhi had become a junior partner of Washington in fulfilling its global ambition.

"The United States has neither supported our claim to the UN Security Council nor recognized us as a nuclear state. They have confined themselves to granting India the status of a state with nuclear technology," he said.

Source: Xinhua