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N-tests India's sovereign right: PM

       New Delhi: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today said that in spite of the certain conditions attached to the Indo-US civilian nuclear energy cooperation, India retains the sovereign right to conduct nuclear tests. Replying to a debate in the Lok Sabha over the issue, Dr. Singh reiterated that if the final Bill passed by the US Senate would not reflect the July 18, 2005 agreement then India would not accept the deal. Dr. Singh reassured the legislators that India would chalk its own independent foreign policy and that "it would not be blown away from the external blowing wind". Stating that he was committed for working on a broad national consensus over the issue, he said that the recent developments have given the country the opportunity for removing the nuclear apartheid regime. Though the nuclear deal would place India at par to a Permanent Five (P-5) or the nuclear weapon state, Dr. Singh, however, said that there were certain questions on the issue of civilian- military nuclear separation that exists since the country is not a nuclear-weapon state. Reiterating that nuclear energy forms an important component in India's quest for sufficient energy to carry forward the development story, Dr. Singh said, "It is in interest of India to have good relations with all major powers, including US, EU, Russia and Arab world".

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