Live
- Cadre wary of BJP pick’s ability to take on incumbent
- IPL 2024: Fraser-McGurk, Porel fifties; Stubbs’ 41 propel DC to 221/8 against RR
- U20 men’s football nationals: Kerala beat Haryana to enter quarters; A.P. draw with Gujarat
- EPFO evaluating course of action over HC ruling on foreign workers
- Political slugfest surfaces in Bengal after SC puts interim stay on cancellation of 25,753 school jobs
- Apple launches iPad Pro with M4 chip and AI capabilities
- Congress stands for National unity says Arathi Krishna
- The dynamics of tax cuts and collections under Modi govt: A tale of prosperity
- ‘Inspiring to see the focus of sports expanding beyond cricket’: State-of-the-Art sports arena unveiled in Delhi
- Voltas Q4 net profit dips 19 per cent, declares dividend of Rs 5.50 per share
BJP to stick to ‘no-first-use’ of N weapons
BJP To Stick To ‘No-First-Use’ of Nuclear Weapons. BJP President Rajnath Singh has ruled out any change in the country\'s ‘No-First Use Policy’ on nuclear weapons. The party sparked speculation about an end to the nuclear doctrine last week when the BJP Election Manifesto said party would \"revise and update\" India\'s policy.
BJP believes that the gains acquired by India during the Atal regime on nuclear programme have been frittered away by Congress.” The BJP will “study in detail India’s nuclear doctrine, and revise and update it
The policy was adopted after a series of nuclear tests on May 11 and May 13, 1998, during the last BJP-led NDA Govt, which led to global condemnation and an embargo being placed on the country by Western powers
New Delhi: BJP President Rajnath Singh has ruled out any change in the country's ‘No-First Use Policy’ on nuclear weapons. The party sparked speculation about an end to the nuclear doctrine last week when the BJP Election Manifesto said party would "revise and update" India's policy.
Any change in nuclear policy would be of most significance to India's rivals, like Pakistan and China. The BJP Manifesto promise really raised several eyebrows.
BJP President Rajnath Singh said, “The no-first-use policy for nuclear weapons was a well-thought out stand. We do not intend to reverse it.” The policy was adopted after a series of nuclear tests on May 11 and May 13, 1998, during the last BJP-led NDA Government, which led to international condemnation and an embargo being placed on the country by Western powers.
The No-First Use Policy was intended to help India acquire greater acceptability as a nuclear power, despite it not being a signatory of the UN Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty of 1970, which aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
Rajnath Singh said that if the BJP is able to form a government under BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, it is expected to have a more muscular foreign policy.
The BJP Election Manifesto says, “The BJP believes that the strategic gains acquired by India during the Atal Behari Vajpayee regime on the nuclear programme have been frittered away by the Congress.” The BJP will “study in detail India’s nuclear doctrine, and revise and update it, to make it relevant to challenges of current times.”
This could mean a re-look at the No-First Use Policy, apparently driven with eye on Pakistan. Any knee-jerk action could entail serious consequences for the country.
The BJP Government in 1998 had decided to go nuclear. In 1999, Draft Nuclear Doctrine was unveiled by the BJP Government. In 2014, the BJP Government, slated to be formed after the General Election, again wants to revise the Nuclear Doctrine.
China was the first country to adopt the No-First Use Policy in 1964, butChina had asserted before that its No-First Use Policy would not apply against countries that are in possession of the Chinese territory.Pakistan, too, does not have a similar policy.
