• So it’s absolutely wrong that you would have put 70 per cent of the reactors under safeguards, even at a point when we were moving towards acceptance of CTBT.

If you look at then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s statement in the U.N. General Secretariat in September 1998, he said we’re prepared to move towards adherence of CTBT but expect others to do the same.

• Because we did nearly put a voluntary moratorium on testing.

We had a moratorium as soon as the testing was over in 1998. We said we are not going to test again. Moratorium is different from CTBT. One article in CTBT says a certain number of countries have to adhere to CTBT before it comes into effect. Vajpayee said he was prepared to accept CTBT but expected others, including America, to do the same.

• Tomorrow, if the U.S. and other significant countries were to accept CTBT, will it be all right for India to join?

We could never remain outside when everybody joins — including our neighbour Pakistan.

• If Hillary comes to power tomorrow and she gets the Congress to sign up for CTBT, you think India will have no choice but to join CTBT?

If 40-odd countries also join.

• We will have no choice.

Pakistan. Israel. China, which has signed it but not ratified it. Iran, if it is named, has to do it.

... contd.