Reiterating India’s “clear-cut” stand on the issue of NSG membership, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday ruled out signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha by the NCP’s Supriya Sule and the TMC’s Sugata Bose on the outcome of India’s recent efforts to secure membership of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) and the resultant “straining” of relations with China, Swaraj said China had set “procedural hurdles” for India in getting membership of the elite group, but India was “engaging with China” to iron out the differences.
Reacting to a question on China’s stand that a non-signatory to the NPT could not become an NSG member, she said: “We will never sign the NPT. But our commitment to the NPT is total.”
Denying that India had faced a ‘diplomatic failure”, Swaraj said: “We are engaging with them (China)”.