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Prepare for fiscal hardship, PM warns nation

By our Special Correspondent

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Sunday maintained that the nuclear tests at Pokhran were conducted only after careful consideration of the global security environment and that the capability would never be used as an instrument of aggression.

"But our successful N-tests will not make any change to our aim of rigorously pursuing a nuclear-free world," Vajpayee said.

Vajpayee, in course of a two-day visit to Kerala, was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the Rs 3 billion private medical school set up by the Amritanandamayi Math, at Edapalli in Kochi.

Apparently referring to the sanctions by the United States and some other countries and the question of India signing the CTBT, Vajpayee asserted that there was no question of India succumbing to pressure from any quarter.

He however warned the nation that it should be ready to face some hardships in the wake of the economic sanctions. Vajpayee asserted that if the nation came together to weather the storm, it would emerge as a stronger, more prosperous country in future.

Stressing on the need for a self-reliant India, he called for private efforts to supplement the government's move in providing the people with basic amenities.

Declaring open for occupation 5,000 houses for the homeless constructed by the Math, the prime minister further announced a proposal for constructing two million houses in ten years, to help meet the country's housing needs.

Health care, the prime minister said, was another vital area in the country's infrastructure development. "The government's policies and programmes will reflect this concern," he added, while calling for a judicious management of the funds earmarked for the purpose, at both Central and state levels.

Responding to the plight of rubber growers in Kerala, the prime minister announced a further procurement of 20,000 tonnes of natural rubber by the State Trading Corporation within the next two months. This was in the wake of the steep fall in price of natural rubber, affecting 800,000 rubber cultivators, he said.

At Edapally, the prime minister faced a black flag demonstration by workers of the Progressive Democratic Front (fronted by Abdul Nissar Madani, now in jail and charged with complicity in the Coimbatore bomb blasts of February 14). They were protesting India's becoming a member of the World Trade Organisation.

Addressing a state-level meeting of BJP party workers at Kozhikode on Monday morning, Vajpayee said the party would not attempt to go in for mid-term polls in a bid to take advantage of the positive publicity generated by the nuclear tests.

"There is no question of the BJP taking credit for the tests, the real credit goes to the scientists and engineers who have worked for the success," he said. Pointing out that the country had come together to support the tests, the prime minister said, "This demonstrates that the Indian people, despite their diversity, are one as far as the country's security is concerned. National security is not a party matter, the credit should go to the entire people," he felt.

Ruling out any more tests, Vajpayee said the scientists had secured all necessary data from those conducted on May 11 and May 13. "These tests should have been conducted long back," he felt.

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