NEW DELHI: Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday that India armed forces it has improved capabilities achieve parity with the PLA of China and be able to give the appropriate response to any provocation.
“Today, in 2020, the Indian armed forces engage with Chinese forces on an equal footing and have developed strong capabilities to give an adequate response to those who look down on the country,” Singh said while delivering the opening speech on “Self – Reliant India ”, organized by Rajasthan BJP, to mark the anniversary of the birth of the late party ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya.
Singh’s comment came in the context of the armythe successful maneuver to seize control of strategic heights in the Pangong Lake region of Ladakh and the warning to PLA commanders that the Jawans will not hesitate to resort to shooting in the event of Chinese aggression. The minister said the focus on improving military muscle was in line with the founder Jan Sangh’s six-point vision for national rejuvenation.
“Deendayal ji had suggested that the country should be able to defend itself. Very few people know that, as a thinker, I had several valuable suggestions on a strategic front other than the economic one, ”said the defense minister. Singh said that Upadhyaya had a firm belief that economic policy will suffer without the country’s dedicated strategic policy.
“No country can be self-sufficient without paying attention to strategic problems. Only good coordinated planning, combining strategic and economic policies, can fulfill India’s commitment to become self-sufficient, “he said.
He said that the RSS ideologue had suggested that India should become self-sufficient in the defense sector in 1962, the time when India had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of China.
Singh said that shortly after China conducted nuclear tests in 1964, Upadhyaya suggested that India should also become a nuclear country.
“He was the only leader in India who spoke about credible nuclear deterrence. When nuclear tests were carried out under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1998, it was only done to show that the country is a nuclear deterrent. That exercise played a vital role in building confidence in the military, ”Rajanth said.
Singh spoke about the agricultural bills, saying that the measures taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a far-reaching impact to make farmers self-sufficient and double their income.
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