India has capability to hit its targets within, across border, says Rajnath

‘Beginning of ‘Ram Rajya’ has started in India; finished Art 370 to bring J&K at par with other parts of country’

Kathua : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership has shown to the world that it has the power to hit its targets within and across the border in the aftermath of Uri and Pulwama terror attacks.
The terrorists attacked an army camp in the border town of Uri in September 2016, resulting in the killing of 19 soldiers. A fortnight later, the Indian Army carried out a surgical strike across the border and destroyed launch pads for terrorists.
In February 2019, over 40 CRPF personnel were killed in a suicide attack on their convoy by the terrorists in Pulwama district of south Kashmir. Twelve days after the attack, the Indian Air Force (AIF) destroyed the terrorist camp in Balakote, Pakistan.
Addressing an election rally in support of BJP candidate Jitendra Singh here, he said, “Earlier India was considered as a soft state…India has neither attacked any country nor occupied any foreign land which is its character."
"But when Uri and Pulwama happened, India gave a strong message that we will not touch anyone but if touched by someone we will not leave them,” he added.
Singh, Union Minister of state in the Prime Minister’s office, is seeking his re-election for the third term from Udhampur parliamentary constituency which is going to polls in the first phase on April 19.
“We have the capability and power to hit (our targets) anywhere within and across our borders. The power of India increased in the world (after the surgical strikes),” he said, giving credit to Prime Minister Modi's leadership.
Referring to the safe evacuation of over 22,500 Indian students in the midst of war between Ukraine and Russia in early 2022, he said the fighting between the two countries stopped for over four hours after Modi established contact with the presidents of the two countries and the US.
“The concerned parents of these students started demanding for the return of their wards from the war-torn country and the government facilitated their safe return (to their homes),” he said.
The senior BJP leader said there is hardly any person in the country who had not benefitted from the government schemes over the last 10 years.
“The corona vaccination was ensured to all citizens without any charge and it was possible only because of the strong leadership,” he said.
Later briefly talking to reporters, the defence minister exuded confidence in winning all the Lok Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir.
He declined a direct answer on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate and said “the case is sub-judice”.
Expressing confidence about Jitendra Singh winning from the constituency for the third term with a huge margin, the defence minister appealed to the people to pick up the party’s past manifestoes, since its origin from the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, and see to it that “we have fulfilled all our promises”.
“We finished Article 370 (that provided special status to J&K) to bring it at par with other parts of the country. Opposition parties were talking about construction of the Ram temple since 1984 but it was done by us and our Prime Minister performed its ‘pranpratishtha’ on January 22," Singh said.
"We implemented the CAA but there are people who are trying to create misgivings but I want to clarify that no Indian citizen is going to lose his citizenship," he added.
Singh further said, “We have promised implementation of the UCC in the next five years and I wonder why it should not be done."
"A big trouble has been created in free India due to trust deficit caused by the politicians who used to say something and do something else. This trust deficit between people and politicians was finished by the BJP,” he added.
Referring to the triple talaq, Singh said some people are saying why are you interfering in the religious affairs of others.
“I want to make it clear to them that any woman irrespective of her faith is our mother, sister and daughter. The attack on the dignity and honour of women will not be tolerated. Whether we form a government or not, how can we accept such a thing which will throw her out of her home,” he said.
Defence Minister also said the "Ram Rajya" has started taking roots in the country and nobody can stop it in becoming a reality.