India will not tolerate anything that hurts its self-respect: Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh Interview on China and Pakistan: As the year 2020 comes to an end, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday made it clear that India will not tolerate anything that will hurt its self-respect.
"China has been doing a lot of infrastructure development in its border areas. India is also developing infrastructure at a fast pace for people at the border and for soldiers there. We are not developing infrastructure to attack any country but for our people," said Rajnath Singh in an exclusive interview with ANI.
Also Read | Farmers are ‘annadatas’, allegations should not be made against them: Rajnath Singh
"India will not tolerate anything that hurts its self-respect," he said, adding that "being soft does not mean that anyone can attack our pride and we sit and watch silently. India will not compromise on its pride."
Rajnath Singh further said that "Pakistan has been indulging in nefarious actions along the border. Our soldiers have proved that not only this side, but to eliminate terrorism they can go to other side and attack terrorist hideouts if the need arises. India has that capability."
He also said that he didn't want to question previous governments. However, he said that ever since PM Modi took office, national security has been a number one priority and that they are providing maximum facilities to our defence forces.
"India has a sharp focus. ‘Jo hume chedega hum usse chhorenge nahi’. We want to maintain peaceful relations with all nations," said Rajnath Singh on being asked if this year's incident at the border as a result of possible collusion between China-Pakistan.
Also Read | 14 more UK returnees found with new mutant coronavirus; tally rises to 20
On being asked about the expansionist goals of China
"If a country is expansionist and tries to occupy our land, then India has the strength, capability and power to not let its land go into anyone's hand, whether it is any country of the world," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.
On India-China standoff
"If there is a status quo, it is natural how deployment can be reduced. There will be no reduction in our deployment and I feel their deployment will also not reduce. Our expectation is that talks result in a positive outcome, he said.
Adding, he said that "talks between India and China have been underway but no success achieved yet. There'll be a next round of talks on a military level which can take place anytime. But no meaningful outcome has come and there is status quo. I don't think status-quo is a positive development."
-PTC News
