NEW DELHI: Clarifying the government position following External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh’s reported remarks that seemed to suggest regret over India’s nuclearization, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Dec. 16 said India was a responsible nuclear power where decisions were taken by national consensus.

Reacting to strong opposition criticism in the Rajya Sabha against Natwar Singh for his reported remarks to Korea Times newspaper, expressing “regret” for India having gone nuclear, Manmohan Singh said the views expressed by Natwar Singh were not an expression of government policy. “India is a nuclear power and a responsible nuclear power,” he asserted, adding that he would check with his cabinet colleague once he returned on Dec. 17 from Seoul what he had said.

Natwar Singh had in his interview with Korea Times reportedly called upon the two Koreas not to emulate India’s example in becoming a nuclear power. He also sought to blame the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the 1998 nuclear tests and the subsequent nuclear standoff with Pakistan.

Manmohan Singh said: “The remarks must have been in the context of questions raised by journalists. What he stated is not a statement of policy; there is no uncertainty in our nuclear policy.” The prime minister insisted that his government believed in national consensus on matters of the country’s defense and diplomacy.

“Without going into the history of what was debated in both houses, I would say that our effort is to ensure that issues related to the country’s defense and strategic affairs are decided upon the basis of continuity and national consensus with due deliberation and has to be kept above partisan politics.” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna dismissed the media reports as being based on “misquotation” and “distortion of facts.”

The leader of the opposition, Jaswant Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha, criticizing Natwar Singh for appearing apologetic about India’s nuclear policy and displaying uncertainty about it.