KOLLAM – A big incident carried out by terrorists from a neighbouring country on India’s coastline cannot be ruled out but the government is committed to coastal and maritime security, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday.
Speaking at the 66th birthday celebrations of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi in Kollam at Kerala, Singh said India will not let anyone who bothered it “rest in peace” while referring to the Air Force strike in Balakot in response to the Pulwama attack.
“We cannot rule out that our neighbouring country’s terrorists can carry out a big incident on our coastline which extends from Kutch to Kerala. As a defence minister I would like to assure that our country’s maritime security is absolutely strong and solidified.
“We are completely committed to coastal and maritime security,” he said.
Singh said that when he was home minister, the Pulwama incident had taken place and no one in the country will be able to forget the sacrifices of the soldiers who were martyred in the incident.
“You know that after some days of Pulwama incident, our Air Force conducted airstrike at Balakot in Pakistan. We do not bother anyone, but if anyone bothers us, we will not let them rest in peace.
“The country that does not remember the sacrifices of its soldiers is not respected anywhere in the world,” he said.
He also said that we must not forget that the soldiers who sacrifice their lives for the country also have parents.
“We should stand with them and honour the sacrifices made by the martyrs of their family,” he said.
‘India Capable of Dealing with Any Situation’
India is capable of dealing with any situation, Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad Yesso Naik said on Friday over incidents of drones from Pakistan airdropping weapons in Punjab.
The Indian Army has emerged stronger after fighting terrorism, he said on the sidelines of India Defence and Security Expo (IDSE) 2019, held at IIT-Delhi.
According to a recent Punjab Police probe, GPS-fitted drones capable of lifting up to 10 kilograms of weight flew in from Pakistan seven to eight times to airdrop several caches of arms, ammunition and fake currency which were seized in Tarn Taran district.
It indicated the weapons were to be used for terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
Police officials said it is the first time that drones have been used to drop weapons in Punjab from across the border.
“India is capable of dealing with it and there is no issue of concern,” Naik said about the incidents of drones airdropping weapons in Punjab and the country’s defence preparedness.
Speaking at the inauguration of the two-day IDSE, he stressed on coupling the ‘Make in India’ initiative with ‘buy in India’ to make the government’s flagship programme successful.
“I hope the defence industry is able to create holistic capabilities in various identified disciplines to take our nation towards strategic independence,” he said.
Naik said the government is looking at the “big picture” of strategic independence and it can be effectively established only if India can reduce its dependence on imports.
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