The Vajpayee government’s uncritical endorsement of the US imperialists new strategic vision of `nuclear security’ is both shocking and outrageous

Press Statement

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

The Vajpayee government’s uncritical endorsement of the US imperialists new strategic vision of `nuclear security’ is both shocking and outrageous. The alacrity in hailing Mr. Bush reflects servile confirmism of the worst order. Clearly, the Vajpayee government is mortgaging India’s right to strategic autonomy and an independent foreign policy. This only confirms the fact that India under this government seeks to emerge as the US surrogate in South Asia.

The new US vision not only negates the thirty-year old anti-Ballistic missile treaty but seeks to put in place a new Ballistic missile defence system. By doing so, US imperialism is setting in motion a new and fierce nuclear arms race amongst nuclear weapon countries. This runs totally contrary to India’s declared commitment to rid the world of nuclear weapons. The Vajpayee government’s assurances to this effect at the time of Pokhran-II were obviously an exercise in hypocrisy.

This "more loyal than the king" approach of the Vajpayee government is reflective of India seeking a strategic dependence on US imperialism. That this is a part of an overall approach adopted by this government is clear by India’s deafening silence on fundamental issues of international morality related to the US spy-plane activities over People’s Republic of China and its studied passivity on the conflict in West Asia where imperialism continues to deny the Palestinians their fundamental right to a home land.

In the process, this government has further jettisoned India’s longstanding consensual approach of an independent foreign policy. India’s acquiesce to imperialist global interests comes when even some of the closest allies of the USA have chosen to be more circumspect. Even within the USA, this is a deeply divisive issue. The impetus for this nuclear missile defence (NMD) strategy comes from the arms lobby which had earlier promoted the notorious "star wars" during the Reagan administration.

The Indian people will never accept such mortgaging of India’s right to strategic autonomy and an independent foreign policy. Such surrender to imperialist global strategy is disgraceful and undermines India’s standing in the international community.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) calls upon the Vajpayee government to immediately reconsider and rescind such a surrender to imperialist interests. Such unilateral re-shaping of India’s foreign policy and defence strategies are not acceptable to the Indian people.