‘Believe Pakistan-occupied Kashmir will merge with India’: Rajnath Singh

He asserts India will counter any threat from China (Document)

New Delhi:

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) themselves have also raised their demand for merger with India. He is confident that the people of Pakistan will integrate with India.

He made the above remarks during the meeting ‘Adalat’ of AAP indian tv shows. When asked about Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent remarks on Kashmir, Rajnath Singh said: “Can they occupy Kashmir? They should be worried about Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. I said this almost a year and a half ago “But there is no need to establish Kashmir.” We attacked and occupied because the situation there was developing, and the Pakistani Kashmiris themselves were demanding merger with India. “

Asked if the government was making any plans, he replied: “I won’t say anything more, I shouldn’t. We will not attack any country. India has the character to never attack any country in the world, neither.” It takes over an inch of someone else’s territory. But the Pakistani-controlled Kro River is ours, the Pakistani-controlled Kro River is ours, and I believe the Pakistani-controlled Kro River itself will be merged with India. “

In early February, Amjad Ayub Mirza, a political activist from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), claimed that the people of PoK were tired of Pakistan’s occupation and were now demanding merger with India.

“In the past few days, the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have told me that they are now demanding annexation to India because they are officially Indian citizens,” activist Mirza said in a video he posted.

“Pakistan’s recent elections have just given us a fragmented mandate. The upcoming elections will bring fruitful results for India, but we, the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, ask how long we have to wait to free ourselves from the oppression of Pakistan and achieve merger In India?” the PoK activist added.

He said that India has the character of never attacking any country or occupying any country’s land. However, he insisted that India would respond appropriately if its prestige was attacked by anyone.

When asked whether China attacked India, Rajnath Singh said: “God should give them good judgment and not make such mistakes. India has the character of never attacking any country, but if any country attacks We, we don’t let them off the hook either. But the fact is if anyone asks us, we have good relationships with all of our neighbors.”

“We want to maintain relations but not at the cost of India’s self-respect. But if any country attacks India’s prestige, it has the ability to give it a befitting reply. We want to maintain good relations with our neighbors because Atalji has been It is often said that we should remember that we can change the friends in our lives but the neighbors never change,” he added.

He insisted that India would deal with any threat from China. He emphasized that India has become a world power.

When asked whether there was a threat from China now, the Defense Minister said: “If any threat arises, we will deal with its content. However, we cannot hold our heads and think about the threat. If a threat arises, this issue will definitely be resolved. .India is no longer a weak country. India has become a strong country in the world.”

In response to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s accusation that China occupied nearly 2,000 square kilometers of Indian territory, he expressed sadness at his remarks and said he did not want to remind him of what China did in 1962.

He said: “I feel very sad that he questioned the courage of our people. He should not have made such remarks. How much territory China occupied in 1962, what activities China did. I don’t want to remind him, don’t talk about it. Don’t worry. , today we can say that we are not willing to lose an inch of territory. I cannot disclose too many specific details because India and China are negotiating and the negotiations are being conducted in the right way. The talks were held in a cordial atmosphere. Otherwise, I will reveal more details. Please don’t force me to reveal more. I can’t reveal too much.”

India and China held the 21st round of Corps Commander-level meeting on Monday at the Chushul-Mordo border in early February to defuse tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. . A statement.

The two countries have been locked in a standoff since April-May 2020 over the transgressions of Chinese troops in various areas including the Finger area, Galwan Valley, Hot Springs and Kolonalala. After violent clashes with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, the situation further deteriorated.

Praising the bravery of Indian defense personnel, he said: “I just want to say that whatever happened this time with China, I am proud of the courage shown by the soldiers of the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy. There are many more such incidents. “If our countrymen are made aware of our country’s military, their respect will be further increased. “

Recalling the battle between India and China in Galwan, he said the Indian soldiers did not fire a single shot but engaged in hand-to-hand combat. He said India lost 20 soldiers in the battle. However, China has not disclosed information about its soldiers.

He said: “You also saw what happened when we fought China in Galwan, our brave soldiers did not fire a single shot, they engaged in hand-to-hand combat. 20 of our soldiers were killed and the Chinese soldiers were killed How many? I’m not saying, but foreign agencies reported that 35 to 40 Chinese soldiers were killed in the conflict. We have not said anything related to China. We have accepted the fact that 20 of our soldiers were killed. “

He said, “It is true that China has been rapidly advancing infrastructure construction near the Line of Control for a long time.” He further said that the Defense Minister asked the government during Congress not to develop infrastructure along the India-China border. He said that after the Modi government came to power, India began to develop infrastructure rapidly.

During the Congress rule, the defense minister said that if we develop infrastructure on the China-India border, China will enter India, so don’t develop infrastructure. After the Modi government came to power, we also started developing border infrastructure rapidly. “

Refuting Rahul Gandhi’s claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is afraid of China, he responded: “I am surprised when someone says Modi Dutt Hain. It is not in his nature to be afraid. “There is nothing to be afraid of. The problem is that these people do not understand why they are questioning India’s strength and courage.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)