Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday warned India’s “neighbour” stating that if anyone tried to harm the country, a befitting reply will be given to them. Speaking at a rally in Chhattisgarh's tribal-dominated Kanker district, Singh said that India has emerged as a powerful country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and it is not weak anymore. “I want to tell our neighbour, if anyone tries to cast an evil eye on us, a befitting reply will be given,” he said.
LWE limited to 10-12 districts
The Defence Minister further said that the influence of the Left Wing Extremism has declined and it is restricted to just 10-12 districts due to the effective action taken by the Modi government in the last nine years. "Left-wing extremism is now limited to 10-12 districts amid action by PM Modi-led central government in the last nine years. If we would have got full cooperation from the Chhattisgarh government, then Naxalism would have been eradicated from the entire nation but there's no cooperation," says Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Kanker.
Notably, elections are due in Chhattisgarh by year-end. The Defence Minister also claimed that Bastar, in particular, was experiencing an increase in forced religious conversions, and he urged the Congress government to put an end to them.
PM Modi’s commitment to welfare of Dalits, tribals
The BJP leader said that Prime Minister Modi has the same commitment to the welfare of Dalits, tribals and backward classes as former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had. “The commitment that was in the heart of Atal ji for the Dalits, tribals and backward people of the country, the same commitment is also in the heart of today's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Have you ever thought that the daughter of tribal society will be able to become the President of the country? Today that charisma has happened,” he said.
“Our then Prime Minister Atalji had only one intention behind making Chhattisgarh that our tribal brothers, who have been lagging behind in the journey of development for hundreds of years, should also get a chance to come forward,” he said.
Congress, after independence, gave priority to itself and its politics and neglected tribals, he alleged.
(With PTI inputs)
