'Not One Inch of Our Land can be taken by Any Power in World' assures Rajnath Singh
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Leh, July 17: "I can assure you, not one inch of our land can be taken by any power in the world," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday assured while he interacted with the Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel here at Lukung.
Referring to the India-China border standoff, the minister said, "Talks are underway to resolve the border dispute but to what extent it can be resolved I cannot guarantee but I can assure you, not one inch of our land can be taken by any power in the world".
आज सुबह लद्दाख़ पहुँच कर सीमावर्ती इलाक़ों का दौरा किया और लुकुंग चौकी पर जाकर भारतीय सेना के जाँबाज़ जवानों एवं अधिकारियों के दर्शन करते हुए उनसे बातचीत करने का अवसर मिला। pic.twitter.com/LTXKwbfSzX
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 17, 2020
"I consider it to be my good fortune to interact with you all. All the countrymen are proud of the miraculous work done by our army from time to time. Even our Prime Minister came here and said the martyrdom of our soldiers will not go in vain," Singh added.
जो कुछ भी अब तक बातचीत की प्रगति हुई है, उससे मामला हल होना चाहिए। कहाँ तक हल होगा इसकी गारंटी नहीं दे सकता। लेकिन इतना यक़ीन मैं ज़रूर दिलाना चाहता हूँ कि भारत की एक इंच ज़मीन भी दुनिया की कोई ताक़त छू नहीं सकती, उस पर कोई कब्ज़ा नहीं कर सकता। pic.twitter.com/RjLP3p1cpa
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 17, 2020
Motivating the troops here, he stated that whatever has happened recently between the army personnel of India and China, Indian soldiers have not only protected the border of the country but they have protected the honour of 130 crore Indians. "You have such sense of self-respect that you can bear everything but cannot let your self-respect get hurt. National pride is at the top... If anyone dares to look at the borders of our nation, at that time our national self-respect awakens," said Singh.
Witnessed the Fire and Fury of the Indian Army during the Para Dropping and other military demonstrations at Stakna near Leh today.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 17, 2020
Also, I got the opportunity to interact with them. I am proud of these brave and courageous soldiers. pic.twitter.com/WYJzx6z6Sh
Emphasising on finding a diplomatic solution to the standoff, he further said, "If a solution can be found by talks, there is nothing better." Elaborating on the recent stand-off between troops of India and China at PP14 and how some of the Indian personnel sacrificed their lives protecting the country's border. "I am happy to meet you all but also saddened because of their loss. I pay my tributes to them," he said.
The Minister is on a two-day visit to Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. to review the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and Line of Control (LoC). Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane are accompanying him on the visit. While he is in Ladakh on the first day of his visit today, the second day he will go to Jammu and Kashmir.
The Defence Minister interacted with the Army and Paramilitary troops here along with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General MM Naravane. Earlier today, he witnessed para dropping and scoping weapons here. He also inspected a Pika machine gun. Meanwhile, Indian Army T-90 tanks and BMP infantry combat vehicles carried out the exercise at Stakna, Leh in presence of Singh, Chief of Defence Staff and Army Chief.
His visit comes at a time amid the heightened tension going on between India and China in the eastern Ladakh. Both the countries have held talks over to reduce tensions along the border. On Tuesday, they held the fourth round of talks on disengagement in Chushul on the Indian side. The talks headed by the corps commanders of the Indian and Chinese armies, that started on Tuesday and stretched into the early hours of Wednesday, both sides discussed the complete disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The talks were focussed to ease out tensions in the Finger Area near Pangong Tso and Depsang plains as well as moving back weapons and equipment from friction points in other sectors. The meetings come after the brutal face-off occurred in Galwan Valley along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in which 20 Indian soldiers were martyred.
The first two meetings took place at Moldo on the Chinese side on June 6 and June 22 while the third meeting was at Chushul. The last two meets lasted over 12 hours each to turn down the rising tensions along the LAC and the third one took place on June 30 to discuss the first phase of disengagement
The Defence Minister was expected to visit Ladakh in early July but his visit was postponed. He is visiting Leh after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the sector on July 3. The PM then declared that the “era of expansionism” is over, sending a strong signal to China about India’s determination to defend its borders.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is continuously in ceasefire violations. As earlier reported, Pakistani forces, till now, have carried out as 2,542 unprovoked ceasefire violations till June 30. Though these concerns are being shared, the Pakistan forces have not ceased such activities. India is strongly protesting, through diplomatic channels, against the continued unprovoked ceasefire violations by Pakistan forces along the Line of Control and the International Boundary which has killed over 14 Indians, wounded 88 in 2020 so far, sources said last week.