Happy New Year 2017, India sets sight on new goals
As we enter the New Year 2017, thestatesman.com wishes all its readers a happy and prosperous year ahead. The year…
Indian armed forces have responded
appropriately to acts of aggression from across the border, whether it is
firing across the LoC or mutilation of a soldier’s body, Defence Minister Manohar
Parrikar said on Sunday.
Parrikar also said that the armed forces
were able to respond with such gusto only because the National Democratic
Alliance government allowed them the freedom to respond appropriately.
“For the last two years, all I did
was, I told our armed forces that if someone attacks you, you are free to reply
appropriately.
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“Look at the result of this one
decision. Whenever we were attacked, our brave soldiers replied appropriately,
be it surgical strikes, Line of Control (LoC) firing, or jawan’s mutilated
body,” Parrikar told a poll rally in South Goa’s Sanvordem constituency.
“The Indian Army gave such a
powerful response that in the end, they asked us to maintain peace. For the
last four days, there has been no firing on the border,” he said.
Parrikar said that when he took over as
Defence Minister, he had to start from scratch and that he was actually nervous
when he assumed charge in 2014.
“When I first went to the Defence
Ministry with your blessings, I did not know anything. My hands and feet
shivered… In reality I did not even know the ranks in military. I had no
experience of this in Goa,” Parrikar said, adding that he did not know
what war really was and what needed to be done to prepare for one.
“I realised that all weapons stocks
were empty, ammunition was empty and the government had tied the hands of the
armed forces… so we took the measures required,” he added.
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