Stepping up its opposition to the logistics exchange agreement with the US, Congress today said the Narendra Modi government "does not have a national mandate" to push India into American military bloc and demanded that it "retrace" its steps.
"We ask the government not to sign this agreement but to retrace their steps and ensure that India's past position of not leaning or being drawn into military blocs is respected," senior Congress spokesman Anand Sharma told reporters.
He claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government "do not have a national mandate" to push India into closer military alliance and become part of the larger operational designs and requirements of the US in Asia and Pacific and South China Sea.
"We have strong reservations and concerns" over such a move. He said it would, in fact, be "inviting opposition and serious concerns" of India's strategic partners like Russia and even China.
"You cannot just sign off India's strategic interests. That would be detrimental to India, we will oppose it, we are opposed to it, we are actually appealing to the good sense of the Prime Minister to stop this...," he said.
He said it would also "undermine" the critical geo-strategic balance and also the balance for forces in India's extended neighbourhood.
"When you have such an agreement put in place, it will also require the presence of support personnel for maintenance and repair in India's military bases and that will further be taking a step towards a formal military alliance," he said.
He said that Congress has strong reservations and concerns on both the logistic exchange agreement as well as CISMOA (Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum Agreement). The CISMOA would take into its embrace the complete communication network of the Indian Armed Forces, its radar, its signals including that of the Air Force and the Indian Navy which can jeopardise the country's operational preparedness and strategies, he said.
"We hope that the government listens to these words of wisdom and also respects the fact that for ten years India was resisting it.
"And we are actually incensed that why this formal agreement soon after when India was embarrassed in Washington when the US chose to equate it with Pakistan at the recent Nuclear summit," he said.
