Sonia, Clinton discuss n-issues

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 22. The U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, this morning heard an Opposition point of view on India's strategic and regional concerns. In a brief but ``substantive'' interaction with the Congress(I) president, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, and her senior advisors, Mr. Clinton sought to impress upon the Opposition the importance of American non-proliferation priorities.

The U.S. delegation included the Secretary of State, Ms. Madeleine Albright, the National Security Advisor, Mr. Sandy Berger, Mr. Strobe Talbott, Mr. Karl Inderfurth and the American Ambassador to India, Mr. Dick Celeste. The Congress(I) delegation included Dr. Manmohan Singh, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Mr. Madhavrao Scindia and Mr. Natwar Singh.

Mrs. Gandhi, who spoke for about eight minutes, outlined her party's perception on the CTBT and supported the idea of a minimum credible nuclear deterrent; she pointed out that while the Congress(I) had an ``open mind'' on signing the CTBT, there was no national consensus on the issue. She also sought to establish a linkage between non-proliferation and disarmament and referred to the Rajiv Gandhi Plan.

Mr. Clinton said that while it was for India to decide whether or not to ratify the CTBT, it was more secure without nuclear weapons. He also acknowledged the Rajiv Gandhi Plan, without in any way endorsing the point. He expressed his country's apprehension about the spread of nuclear weapons among non-State international players.

On India-Pakistan relationship, Mrs. Gandhi said that the Congress(I) favoured a bilateral dialogue but various incidents of cross-border terrorism had vitiated the atmosphere. But, there had to be a dialogue between the two countries at some stage.

The Congress(I) sources described the meeting as a ``serious exercise.'' It was not just a ``courtesy call'', noted a CWC member.

In a lighter vein, Mr. Clinton expressed his puzzlement at the difference between the high percentage of vote and the number of seats won by the Congress(I) in the general election. He was told about the merits and demerits of the ``first-past-the- post''principle.

As the meeting was breaking up, Mr. Celeste appeared to be wondering whether Mr. Vajpayee would oblige his critics by making his remarks in Hindi before the joint session of Parliament. The Congress(I) delegation pointed out that should the Prime Minister address the joint session in Hindi he would invite some reaction from the MPs from the south.

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