India will not yield to pressure on CTBT: PM

NEW DELHI, MARCH 4. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, today asserted that India would not succumb to any pressure on signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and would keep intact its sovereignty and rights.

``India will not come under any pressure to sign the CTBT,'' Mr. Vajpayee said, addressing an Arya Samaj delegation here on the occasion of Swami Dayanand Saraswati anniversary. Mr. Vajpayee's remarks assume significance as they come ahead of the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton's visit to India later this month.

Washington has been insisting on India and Pakistan to sign the treaty, following the nuclear tests by the two in May 1998.

New Delhi has contended that by strictly adhering to its decision to observe a voluntary moratorium on further nuclear tests, it was in effect conforming to the provisions of the treaty.

Recalling the qualities of Swami Dayanand Sarswati, Vajpayee said he was one of the great persons who had first raised the voice for the country's freedom and launched a campaign for social reforms.

-PTI

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