``We are firm in keeping our borders secure and deal with any attack firmly,'' Vajpayee said, replying to clarifications in the Rajya Sabha on his statement on the SAARC summit and the ASEAN meetings.

The Lok Sabha also witnessed the first stirrings of debate on the changed meaning of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) since India went nuclear. CPI leader Indrajit Gupta said that unlike the NPT, the clauses of the CTBT were actually ``not discriminatory.'' Congress leaders K Natwar Singh and Shivraj Patil pleaded with the government to take them into confidence on this very ``delicate'' subject. Even SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, warning that he would lead the fight to ``protect India''actually wanted to know if things had changed.

The PM, kicking off the debate in the House, seemed unaware that his Pakistani counterpart had described their Colombo meeting as a ``waste of time'' -- and said the ``atmosphere'' of the discussions were ``cordial and constructive. I look forward to continuing a purposeful interaction with (him),'' he added. India, an unusually fatigued PM explained, had underlined the necessity to ``address the totality of the relationship,'' since pursuing it in a ``narrow, segmented fashion would defeat its very purpose which is to build a wide-ranging relationship.''

The PM also sought to dispel the impression that India stood isolated at these forums. ``The truth is that at SAARC it was Pakistan which was isolated,'' he said, pointing out that the member-nations had agreed to avoid any discussion on bilateral issues. But he could take hope not only from his BJP colleague Jagmohan but also Indrajit Gupta who admitted that ``Pakistan tries to narrow down everything toKashmir. We naturally resist that, and correctly too...Nawaz Sharif is calling the dialogue a waste of time, but that can't be helped.'' Only Natwar Singh, who sought India's recognition as a nuclear weapons state, asked what New Delhi's problem was in exclusively discussing Kashmir as demanded by the Pakistanis. ``Make me a member of your team,'' said the former Congress minister of state for external affairs. But Congress leader P A Sangma was determined to challenge -- and debunk -- the government's articulation of the nation's foreign policy, especially on the nuclear front. Citing a sea-change in international relations, he said ``it wasn't military might but economic might'' which had now become the driving force of nations worldwide.''

Starkly, Sangma put his finger on the inconsistencies in the government's public statements: firstly, between New Delhi's traditional demand to eliminate N-weapons in a time-bound framework and its decision to test nuclear weapons; and secondly, between anuclear-capable India and poverty, malnourishment and illiteracy. ``There can't be nuclear security,'' he said, ``without food security, job security, health security, social security.''