Prime Minister Narendra Modi clarified neither anyone is inside the Indian territory nor is any of its post captured.
India, he said, has incomparable capibilities and no one can dare look towards an inch of its land.
“The Indian forces are capable of moving together across sectors. While on the one hand, the army has been given freedom to take necessary steps, India has also conveyed its position clearly to China through diplomatic means,” he said at an All-Party Meeting via video conferencing to discuss the situation in India-China border areas.
Presidents of various political parties participated in the meeting.
He highlighted government’s primacy to development of border area infrastructure to make India’s borders more secure. He noted that through better infrastructure, supply of material and essentials to jawans in the difficult terrain has become comparatively easier.
Through the recently developed infrastructure, Modi said, the patrolling capacity at LAC has also increased and because of it, India is better informed about the developments at LAC and consequently is able to monitor and respond better.
“The movement of those which used to take place without any disruption earlier is now checked by our jawans, which at times leads to build up of tension,” he said.
Provision has also been made for fighter planes, modern helicopters, missile defence systems and other such needs of the forces.
Modi said India is hurt and angry at the steps taken by China at LAC. He assured all steps necessary for national security and construction of necessary infrastructure, will continue to be taken at a fast pace.
He reassured the leaders about the capability of the armed forces to defend Indian borders and that they have been given a free hand to take all necessary steps.
He said that twenty of Indian brave soldiers made the supreme sacrifice for the nation in Ladakh but also taught a lesson to those who had dared to look towards India. “The nation will forever remember their valour and sacrifice,” he said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the nation will never forget the sacrifice of the martyrs.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar gave an overview of agreements between India and China on border management, informed about the directions given by the Prime Minister in 2014 to give highest priority to development of infrastructure in border areas in the regions identified and approved by the Cabinet in 1999, and also shared details of recent developments.
The political parties hailed the bravery displayed by the armed forces in Ladakh.
They reposed faith in the leadership of Prime Minister and expressed commitment to stand united with the government.
They also shared their thoughts and ideas on dealing with the situation.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee said that her party stands strongly in solidarity with the government.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that there should be no difference amongst the leaders and parties should not allow any disunity which can be exploited by other nations.
LJP President Chirag Paswan said that the country feels safe under the leadership of Prime Minister.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray lauded Modi and said that the entire country is one and with the Prime Minister.
AICC President Sonia Gandhi said that the leaders are still in the dark about the details and questioned the government about intelligence reports and other related matters.
NCP Chief Sharad Pawar stressed that issues of whether soldiers carried arms or not are decided by international agreements and the parties need to respect sensitivities involved in such
Conrad Sangma said Modi has been working on infrastructure in the Northeast and that must go on.
BSP Chief Mayawati said that this is not the time for politics and stood with Prime Minister on whatever decisions he takes.
MK Stalin welcomed the recent statement by Prime Minister on the issue.
