With the tenth anniversary of Pokharan II now behind us, one political fact stands out. The BJP leadership is so determined to prevent the Congress from gaining credit for the Indo-US nuclear deal that it is prepared to abandon the political inheritance of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who ordered Pokharan II and laid the foundation for India’s integration into the global order as a full-fledged nuclear weapon power.

There is no other way of explaining the BJP’s decision to dismiss the arguments of two individuals who helped Vajpayee put India on a bold nuclear path. One is Brajesh Mishra, Vajpayee’s national security adviser, who planned Pokharan II and managed its consequences. The other is former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who as head of DRDO organised the nuclear tests along with the Department of Atomic Energy.

Neither of these gentlemen was quick to endorse the Indo-US nuclear deal. Both had reservations on the ability of President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to fully realise the historic agreement they signed on July 18, 2005. It is only after asking very difficult questions and satisfying themselves of its merits that Mishra and Kalam have come out in defence of the civil nuclear initiative. But the BJP, it seems, is in no mood to let either facts or India’s national interest come in the way.

Anyone familiar with India’s nuclear diplomacy over the last decade knows the Indo-US nuclear deal was merely a culmination of Vajpayee’s persistent negotiations with Washington. These talks took place in two phases — between the then external affairs minister, Jaswant Singh, and the then American deputy secretary of state, Strobe Talbott, during 1998-2000 and between Brajesh Mishra and his American counterpart as national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, during 2001-04. The Congress just capped this effort during 2004-05.

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