Troops will cross LoC if need rises to maintain India's honour, says Rajnath
SRINAGAR: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said the Indian soldiers are protecting the country’s borders with all might and a sense of responsibility; hence no one will summon up courage to look at it with an evil eye.
He also said that the Indian soldiers will not hesitate in crossing the Line of Control (LoC) if the need arises to maintain the country’s honour.
“As long as you (soldiers) are protecting us on the borders, no one can even have the courage to raise their eyes towards India. At the time of the Kargil War, if we did not cross the LoC, it did not mean that we could not cross the LoC. We can cross the LoC and will cross the LoC in the future if need be”, he said while addressing the Army jawans at Drass.
Earlier, Singh laid a wreath at the Kargil War Memorial in the peripheries of the Ladakhi town and paid tribute to soldiers who lost their lives in the 1999 Kargil War. Every year, a sombre function is organized by the Indian Army at Drass in commemoration of those who laid down their lives during the 1999 India-Pakistan war fought along the heights of Kargil.
The Defence Minister said, “I salute those brave sons, who sacrificed everything for the protection of the motherland. I salute those brave sons who put the nation first and did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives for it.” He added, “Not only in Kargil, but many times since independence till today, your bravery has made the nation proud from time to time and I want to assure the families and well-wishers of all the brave soldiers who were martyred in the Kargil war that we will never let their sacrifice or their memory fade away. The National War Memorial is a symbol of our commitment”.
Singh who along with Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and tri-service chiefs visited the Kargil War Memorial said that India has great respect for all other countries and also follows laid down norms for international conduct, but its generosity couldn’t be mistaken as its weakness.
“The Narendra Modi led government is very clear about its policies and has given free hand to the armed forces to launch operations across the border if the need arises. In 1999 we did not cross the LoC, but it does not mean we are not able to cross it. We can cross the LoC and will cross it in future if needed.”
Elaborating on why the Indian troops did not cross the LoC during the Kargil War, the Defence Minister said, “Even after winning the war, our forces did not cross the LoC. That is because we are peace-loving, we believe in Indian values, and we have a commitment to international laws.” He, however, reiterated, “Today, on Kargil Vijay Diwas, I would like to say one thing to our countrymen: the honour and dignity of the nation are above everything for us, and for this we can go to any extent.”
Singh, in an obvious reference to the Ukraine war, said that in the recent times the wars are getting prolonged the public should be ready to participate in the war not only indirectly, but also directly in the coming times. He asserted, “I believe that the public has to be mentally prepared for the fact that whenever the nation needs them, they should be ready to help the army…that’s why I want to say this to the people of the country, that just as every soldier is an Indian, in the same way every Indian should always be ready to play the role of a soldier”.
While speaking on the occasion, the Army Chief, General Manoj Pande, asked for “constantly rebooting future ready forces” with latest technology and vast field experiences to tackle dangers and challenges ahead.
He said, “Our armed forces should prepare for future keeping in mind possible challenges. Dangers and challenges before us are likely to get complex in the future, we need to be ready. Asserting that they have been working on adaptive, resilient and responsive processes, he said, “Our Army will emerge as a technology-enabled and future-ready force to deal with security challenges.”
Gen. Pande also said the jawans, who made the supreme sacrifice in the 1999 conflict with Pakistan, will forever live on in the hearts and minds of the people. “The country will never forget the supreme sacrifice of our soldiers in the 1999 Kargil war.” He added, “Operation Vijay was a difficult and a high-intensity military operation. It was a difficult terrain, which was under the possession of the enemy. It was a challenge that our soldiers accomplished. I also want to commend our Air warriors for their contribution to achieving the final objective.”
