The BJP's Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had gone in for a nuclear explosion in May last as part of a policy of nuclear weaponisation. But the Pakistani response was too prompt to be ignored by the BJP think tank then. The euphoria was short-lived and the RSS programme of celebration for the nuclear blast had to be cancelled. The test launch of Agni-II had to be made when the Vajpayee government was faced with a real threat of falling any moment. For more than a week, the AIADMK supremo Ms Jayalaita had been giving enough indications that her party was likely to withdraw support from the Vajpayee government. She actually did so after coming over to the capital and informed here decision to withdraw support from the government during a meeting with the President Mr. K.R. Narayanan on Wednesday. Mr. Vajpayee ordered the test launch of the Agni-II hoping this would give him some political mileage when his government is tottering.

But BJP-led government apparently is little concerned about the people living, in the sub-continent. Unmindful of the consequence of the sanctions imposed by the USA and other countries of the West, the Vajpayee government again ordered test firing of the missile. It would have been better if the BJP could resist the pressure from the US. The initialing of the CTBT by Mr. Vajpayee is on the cards.

The CPI (M) Politburo has been advocating the development of India's missile technology without succumbing to the US pressures against it. In a statement it said the development of the Agni missile was being linked by the Vajpayee government with its declared policy of nuclear weaponisation. Such a linkage would result in escalation of the nuclear arms race with Pakistan, which is bound to respond in a similar manner. Developing the country's independent missile and nuclear technology without resorting to nuclear weaponisation was the policy, which was being followed prior to the BJP-led government's decision to break with that stand and go in for an adventurist policy. It is essential that the old policy be restored.

The CPI (M) Politburo said that the Vajpayee government facing the imminent threat of its downfall was desperately trying to project the Agni test launch as a new achievement divorced from the continuing and substantial work put in over a period of time. It also shortsightedly sought to project it as an aggressive step forward after the Pokhran tests. This was unwarranted and nothing but political posturing.