BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has alleged that the Congress-led government in 1995 halted its plans for a nuclear test due to pressure from the United States. Citing declassified documents, Dubey claimed that then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao had been prepared to go ahead with the test, but the plan was scrapped following U.S. intervention.
In a post on social media platform X, Dubey asserted that American pressure influenced the Congress government’s decision, and indirectly targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. “Read history — Rahul Baba gets scared of America,” he wrote.
Dubey alleged that sensitive information regarding the planned test was leaked to the United States, possibly by a senior government official or minister. This breach, he said, led to swift diplomatic action from Washington.
He cited a segment of a declassified U.S. document which mentions an urgent request from the American President at the time. The communication reportedly instructed the U.S. Charge d’Affaires to schedule a meeting between Ambassador Frank Wisner and the Indian Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary, A.N. Varma, upon the envoy’s return to Delhi.
According to Dubey, this diplomatic move was part of a broader effort by the U.S. to dissuade India from moving forward with the test. He contrasted this with the BJP-led government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which conducted the Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998 despite international sanctions and pressure.
He also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with similar determination in the face of global challenges, and urged Rahul Gandhi to “study history and reflect.”
Earlier this week, Dubey also called for a probe into what he described as historical links between the Nehru-Gandhi family and China. Referring to newly declassified material related to the 1961 Belgrade Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, he questioned the motives behind Jawaharlal Nehru’s advocacy for non-alignment.
“Rahul Baba, do you know that Nehru created the Non-Aligned Movement at China’s behest?” Dubey said, adding, “Which country stood by India during or after the 1962 war with China, once we were cut off from both Russia and America?”
