New Delhi: Amid growing tensions with Pakistan after the withdrawal of 370, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh indicated that India may also change its policy on not using nuclear weapons first.
The Defense Minister said in Pokhran, ‘So far our policy regarding nuclear weapons has been to’ not use it first ‘. Now what happens in the future depends on the situation at that time.
#WATCH: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh says in Pokhran, “Till today, our nuclear policy is ‘No First Use’. What happens in the future depends on the circumstances.” pic.twitter.com/fXKsesHA6A
— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2019
Rajnath Singh made this statement in Pokhran. This is the same place where India conducted 5 nuclear tests in 1998 under the leadership of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The special thing is that today is the first death anniversary of former Prime Minister Vajpayee. The defense minister said these things after paying tribute to Vajpayee in Pokhran today.
No First Use (NFU) means not to use a nuclear weapon unless the virahadi first strikes it. India adopted the policy of not using nuclear weapons any further, after Pokharan-2 in 1998. Prior to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also said that India would not use nuclear weapons against any enemy.
In recent times, many retired members of the nuclear safety establishment have questioned India’s NFU policy. Apart from this, former Defense Minister Manohar Manohar Parrikar also questioned the need of NFU in the year 2016.