Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday (October 25, 2020) reiterated that India is committed to ending the border row with China along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh. He also expressed confidence in the Indian Army and said that no one will be able to take "even an inch of our land".
The defence minister said, "India wants that the border tension with China should end and peace should be preserved. Also, I am confident that our army will not let anyone take even an inch of our land." The statement was made by Singh during the "Shastra Puja" at Sukna-based headquarters of the Indian Army's 33 Corps in Darjeeling district of West Bengal.
Sing was supposed to perform the puja at Sherathang in Sikkim but inclement weather in the region forced the defence minister to cancel his trip.
"India wants an end to the ongoing border tension with China and the restoration of peace. This is our objective. But at times, some nefarious incidents keep happening. I am very confident that our soldiers will never allow even an inch of our land to be taken away by anyone," Singh reiterated India's stand after performing the "Shastra Puja".
The Union Defence Minister has for a few years been performing "Shastra Puja" during Dussehra. Even as the home minister during the previous NDA government Rajnath Singh performed pujas on a number of occasions.
Army officials said that the "Shastra Puja" at the strategically important military will send out a strong message to adversaries of India.
Without going into the details of what happened between the Indian and Chinese soldiers at the LAC recently, the defence minister praised the valour of the army and said, "I can say with confidence and on the basis of concrete information that the courage and deeds of Indian soldiers during whatever has happened at the India-China border in Ladakh recently will be written in golden letters by the historians."
The defence minister also reviewed the combat preparedness of the Army during a high-level meeting at the military base.
