Political reactions flew thick and fast, though on expected lines after India won a waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in Vienna for indulging in nuclear commerce without signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh termed the waiver a “historic day” for India even as Congress chief Sonia Gandhi congratulated him, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee the government for the diplomatic coup.
Congress party leader Digvijay Singh also termed this a historic day for India as it ended nearly 40 years of nuclear isolation.
The government’s new ally the Samajwadi Party termed the waiver as a great victory for India and said it would help the country in its development. “India needs development and not nuclear bombs,” SP General Secretary Amar Singh said, criticising the opposition parties for “beating around the bush.”
“It is obvious that the deal is good for the country, as countries such as China and Pakistan are opposing it,” he said. “The saddest opposition has come from the BJP which has always stood for the furtherance of India’s nuclear programme, now they are supporting countries like Pakistan and China,” he added.
The BJP said that they will continue to oppose the nuclear deal, and that the waiver granted by the NSG was a historic blunder for India. “We have forever forsaken the right to test nuclear weapons. China and Pakistan are getting stronger everyday and we have whistled away our right to test nuclear weapons,” said former External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha .
“We have been against this deal from the beginning and will continue to oppose it,” he added.
The Left declined to comment before seeing the draft of the waiver, but D Raja member of Parliament from the CPI said that the Left’s opposition to the deal still continues.