Faux pas: Rajnath Singh says India to make Nuclear weapons with France

NEW DELHI: In a major faux pas that kept journalists guessing and the home ministry on tenterhooks for half a day, home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday announced that India had entered into an agreement with France to make nuclear weapons in India as part of PM Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' campaign.

However, Singh's office later clarified that the minister was referring to nuclear reactors.

Singh was holding a press conference on achievements of the Modi government and his own ministry after one year in power. While talking about various diplomatic achievements of the government, Singh said, "I want to talk about PM's nuclear diplomacy as well. Through his nuclear diplomacy, he has penned agreements with France that will not only give a new high to manufacture of nuclear weapons in India but also to the 'Make in India' programme. Through agreement with Canada, we also ensured availability of nuclear fuel."

As journalists wondered if the home minister had made a sensational announcement about India's diplomatic achievement, hitherto unknown, his office clarified that it was a mere "slip of tongue". "One cannot say what will happen in future but at least today, it was a slip of tongue. The minister meant nuclear reactors," a source close to the minister said.

Singh also spoke at length about India's achievements in cultural diplomacy, citing the gift of a horse to Modi during his visit to Mongolia and the PM gifting Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang's manuscripts on his visit to China. "We have begun an era of proactive diplomacy. Until now, India followed the passive diplomacy of non-alignment," Singh said.

The home minister also took potshots at former PM Manmohan Singh, calling him an economist removed from reality. "Manmohan Singh was an 'arthashastri' (economist). But this country needs a 'yatharthshastri' (realist), which is our PM," Singh said expressing confidence that India would soon overtake China in economic growth.

He also said that during UPA rule, all economic indices were doing "sirshashan" (upside down) and that his government had spent a year setting it right.