New Delhi:

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday visited Siachen, the world’s highest battlefield, and reviewed India’s overall military preparedness in the region.

Mr Singh’s visit to Siachen came over a week after the Indian Army marked the 40th year of its presence in the strategically key region.

The defence minister, accompanied by Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande, reviewed the overall security situation in the region, officials said.

Mr Singh also interacted with the soldiers deployed in Siachen.

The Siachen glacier, which is at a height of around 20,000 feet in the Karakoram range, is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds.

Under its ‘Operation Meghdoot’ the Indian Army established its full control over the Siachen Glacier in April 1984.

The Indian Army strengthened its presence in Siachen over the last few years.

In January last year, Captain Shiva Chauhan from the Army’s Corps of Engineers was posted at a frontline post in Siachen Glacier, in the first such operational deployment of a woman Army officer at the key battlefield.

“The Indian Army’s control over Siachen Glacier has not only been a story of unparalleled valour and determination but also an incredible journey of technological advancements and logistical improvements that transformed it from one of the most formidable terrains into a symbol of indomitable spirit and innovation,” an Army official had said last week. 

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New Delhi:

 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday accused the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Congress of conspiring to weaken India while questioning the intention behind the CPI (M)’s election manifesto promise to dismantle all nuclear weapons in the country.

Mr Singh also demanded to know the Congress’ stand on the issue and said that “talking about destroying our nuclear weapons is no less than playing with national security.”

“I want to ask Congress in particular what they have to say about this comment by CPIM. I want to ask them to clarify. CPIM says if they come to power, they will destroy all nuclear weapons. India’s first nuclear tests were conducted in 1974 by Indira Gandhi. The need arose because China had continuously been doing nuclear tests. And even Pakistan had begun its nuclear trials,” the defence minister said while addressing a public rally in Kerala’s Kasargod.

“Later, the Atal Bihar Vajpayee government conducted five successful nuclear tests and earned India the status of a nuclear power in the world. The Left and Congress want to weaken India,” he added.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which is part of the INDIA bloc, in its manifesto, which was released last week, has promised “complete elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological weapons.”

“At a time when India’s neighbouring countries are nuclear powers, talking about destroying our nuclear weapons is no less than playing with India’s national security. It is a very deep-rooted conspiracy to weaken the country,” Rajnath Singh said.

Attacking left parties, the Defence Minister said, “Once the public kicked the left party out of Tripura and Bengal, then there is no entry for them into power. Whether it is Congress or the Left Party, whenever they get exposed in public, their game is over. This is the reason that, whichever state they are kicked out of, the doors of that state are always closed for them.”

“Can you trust Congress and the LDF? Because in Kerala, both parties are fighting against each other, but in Delhi, the same Congress and Left do ‘Modiram matal’ (join hands) to increase friendship,” he added.

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Bhopal:

Union minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday took a dig at Rahul Gandhi, saying that like Mahendra Singh Dhoni in cricket, the Congress leader was the “best finisher” of Indian politics.

Speaking at an election campaign rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi district, the senior BJP leader also alleged that Congress has an “unbreakable” relationship with corruption.

Congress once dominated Indian politics, but now it has a government only in two or three small states, he said.

“I sometimes wonder why this is happening, and I reach this conclusion. Who is the best finisher in cricket? (After people replied) Dhoni. If anyone asks me who is the best finisher in Indian politics, I will say it is Rahul Gandhi. This is the reason several leaders have left Congress,” the senior BJP leader said.

At an earlier rally, Mr Singh had taken a jibe at Mr Gandhi saying he had vowed not to stop until he “finished” the Grand Old Party.

Congress and corruption were inextricably linked, Mr Singh said, adding that most Congress governments faced corruption allegations, but no such allegations were made against any minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

The Congress’ relationship with corruption can be described by the song “Tu Chal Mein Aai” (I will follow you) in the Salman Khan- starrer “Maine Pyar Kiya,” the minister said.

Mr Singh also batted for ‘one-nation, one-election, claiming that it will save time and resources.

Contrary to what Congress has been saying, simultaneous elections will strengthen Indian democracy, he said, adding that elections should be held twice in five years — once for local bodies, followed by those for assemblies and the Lok Sabha.

Some big financial firms are predicting that India will be in the top three economies of the world by the start of 2027, and the Modi government has already put the country in the top five from the 11th spot ten years ago, the defence minister said.

India will be a superpower by 2045, Mr Singh added.

When in power, Congress made several promises, and had they been fulfilled even partially, India would have become a powerful country long ago, he said.

The BJP, on the other hand, fulfilled all its promises in ten years, Mr Singh said.

“See all our manifestoes, and (one will find) we did what we said. We have been saying since 1984 that we will construct a Ram temple (in Ayodhya)….The opposition was asking for a date. Now consecration (of the idol) has taken place,” he said while also citing the abrogation of Article 370 and ban on triple talaq as examples of the party doing what it promised.

“We are standing with all the sisters and mothers irrespective of their religion. If the dignity and existence of sisters and mothers is at stake, the BJP will stand with them, no matter whether our government stays or not,” he said.

Politics should not be done for appeasement, and the BJP is doing politics for building the nation, Mr Singh said.

While citing terror activities during the UPA rule, the defence minister averred that India wants good relations with Pakistan.

“We want to maintain good relations with the neighbouring countries, because (former prime minister) Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to say that one can change one’s friends but not the neighbours. We follow this (dictum). But if anyone tries to promote terrorism in our country, we will give a befitting reply,” he said.

If provoked, India is no longer a weak country and can even take action by going across the border if necessary, Mr Singh said, adding that the country has already demonstrated this in the last ten years.

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Photo used for representation purpose only. File
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

In response to Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh’s remarks on terrorism where he said that “If they [terrorists] run away to Pakistan, we will enter Pakistan to kill them (Pakistan mein ghus ke marenge),” Pakistan on April 6 said that the Indian government “habitually resorts to hateful rhetoric to fuel hyper-nationalistic sentiments, unapologetically exploiting such discourse for electoral gains.”

In an interview to a television channel Mr. Singh responded to a question on an article published in The Guardian that said India had carried out the execution of almost 20 terrorists since 2020 inside Pakistan. “If any terrorist tries to disturb the peace in Bharat, or tries to carry out terror activities in Bharat, we will give them a befitting reply (muh tod jawab),” he said.

Denouncing his remarks, Pakistan brought up their claims of “India’s campaign of extrajudicial and transnational assassinations on Pakistani soil” citing evidence they had provided in January this year.

“India’s assertion of its preparedness to extra-judicially execute more civilians, arbitrarily pronounced as “terrorists”, inside Pakistan constitutes a clear admission of culpability. It is imperative for the international community to hold India accountable for its heinous and illegal actions,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a press release.

“India’s ruling dispensation habitually resorts to hateful rhetoric to fuel hyper-nationalistic sentiments, unapologetically exploiting such discourse for electoral gains,” it added.

In January, in response to Pakistan Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi’s claims that India had carried out two extra-judicial killings, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had termed it Pakistan’s “latest attempt at peddling false and malicious anti-India propaganda.” Stating that Pakistan has long been the epicentre of terrorism, organised crime, and illegal transnational activities, the spokesperson added that to “blame others for its own misdeeds can neither be a justification nor a solution.”

The Ministry of External Affairs has declined to comment on whether Mr. Singh’s statement was at odds with the MEA position, as quoted in the article, that the allegations were false.

New Delhi:

India will enter Pakistan to kill anyone who escapes over the border after trying to carry out terrorist activities in the country, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told CNN News18 on Friday.

Mr Singh’s comments come a day after Britain’s Guardian newspaper published a report alleging the Indian government killed 20 people in Pakistan since 2020 as part of a broader plan to eliminate terrorists living on foreign soil.

The foreign ministry did not respond to a Reuters’ request for comment on the report, while Pakistan’s foreign ministry refused to comment.

“If they run away to Pakistan, we will enter Pakistan to kill them,” Mr Singh told the channel in response to a question about the report.

“India always wants to maintain good relations with its neighbouring countries… But if anyone shows India the angry eyes again and again, comes to India and tries to promote terrorist activities, we will not spare them,” Mr Singh said.

Relations between the countries have worsened since a 2019 suicide bombing of a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama was traced to Pakistan-based terrorists, leading India to carry out an airstrike on a terrorist base in Pakistan.

Pakistan said earlier this year it had credible evidence linking Indian agents to the killing of two of its citizens on its soil.

India said it was “false and malicious” propaganda.

The report in the Guardian comes months after Canada and the US accused India of killing or attempting to kill Khalistani terrorists in those countries.

Canada said in September that it was pursuing “credible allegations” linking India to the death of a Sikh separatist leader shot dead in June – claims that India said were “absurd and motivated”.

A top Canadian official said in January that India was cooperating in the matter and bilateral ties were improving.

The US similarly said in November that it had thwarted an Indian plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader and announced charges against a person it said had worked with India to orchestrate the attempted murder.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India will investigate any information it receives on the matter.

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh:

In a dig at the INDIA bloc, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today said the alliance cannot face the NDA or BJP in the Lok Sabha elections as “desh ki janta moye moye kar degi” (the people will make the Opposition come a cropper in the elections).

Campaigning for the seven-phased general elections in Ghaziabad, in favour of sitting MLA AND BJP candidate Atul Garg, Mr Singh said the Opposition bloc will struggle to weigh up and face the NDA in the Lok Sabha elections.

“Several Opposition parties came together to fight and defeat the BJP. However, you can all see that this is an alliance of convenience of some self-seeking Opposition leaders. However, they can’t even face up to the NDA even if they are united. Iss desh ki janata iska bhi moye moye kar degi (the people will make the Opposition come a cropper in the elections),” the minister said.

The viral ‘moye moye’ trend caught on from a Serbian song that gained massive traction on TikTok and subsequently spread to various social media platforms. The hit song ‘Moye More’, was officially released by the name of ‘Dzanum’, by Serbian singer-songwriter Teya Dora. The lyrics of the song hint at anguish, despair and nightmares. However, in India, netizens set the song along with their hilarious Instagram reels and memes on other social media platforms.

Invoking the daring rescue and repatriation of natives stuck and distressed in war-torn Ukraine, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi facilitated the return of 22,500 stranded Indian students after speaking with leaders in the country and those in Russia and the US, adding that no other world leader could have accomplished this feat.

He also lauded PM Modi raising the country’s prestige and profile on the world stage since being elected to office in 2014.

“The India of today is a powerful country. The world did not take us seriously earlier, but PM Modi worked a miracle to get us where he has. Today, when India speaks on a global forum, the whole world listens. This is a ringing endorsement and affirmation of where our country is today,” the Raksha Mantri said.

“We should all be proud of how the war (between Russia and Ukraine) was stopped for four-and-a-half hours to enable the passage of 22,500 Indian children from Ukraine. This is India,” he said.

The BJP declared Atul Garg as its candidate from the Ghaziabad constituency after Union minister and the sitting BJP MP from Ghaziabad, Gen (retd) VK Singh withdrew himself from the fray for the Lok Sabha polls.

Mr Garg is currently a member of the state legislative assembly from Ghaziabad.

Ghaziabad will poll for the Lok Sabha on April 26, in the second of the seven-phased elections. The votes will be counted on June 4.

Spread across five assembly areas of Loni, Muradnagar, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad and Dhaulana (Hapur), the Ghaziabad Lok Sabha constituency has over 29 lakh registered voters, according to officials.
 

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New Delhi:

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the country’s defence exports have scaled to “unprecedented heights” and crossed Rs 21,000 crore-mark for the “first time” in the history of Independent India.

“Delighted to inform everyone that the Indian Defence Exports have scaled to unprecedented heights and crossed Rs 21,000 crore mark for the first time in the history of Independent India!,” he said in a post on X.

The Union minister also said that India’s defence exports have reached to the level of Rs 21,083 crore in the financial year 2023-24 which is a “spectacular growth” of 32.5 per cent over the previous fiscal.

Under Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi‘s visionary leadership the Defence ministry has taken several initiatives to spur India’s defence manufacturing and exports.

Our defence industries including the Private Sector & DPSUs have registered a commendable performance in the…

— Rajnath Singh (मोदी का परिवार) (@rajnathsingh) April 1, 2024

During an interaction with members of the Indian diaspora in Nigeria in May 2023, the defence minister had emphasised on the government’s focus on ‘Aatmanirbharta’ and the “significant progress” made in defence exports in the recent years towards achieving the objective of “Make in India, Make for the World”. 

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New Delhi:

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday defended the Agnipath scheme underlining that the future of youths joining as Agniveers would not be impacted, even as he said the government was “open” to bring any change in it “if required”.

During a fireside chat on the concluding day of the Times Now Summit here, Mr Singh, while responding to a question on the criticism of the scheme, said such questions have “no standing” and underlined that everyone will accept that the armed forces should have a young profile.

He said recruiting youths would result in an increased risk-taking spirit and more tech-savvy jawans in the armed forces.

Today is the age of technology and the Indian youth should also be tech-savvy. Such youths are being recruited under this scheme as Agniveers, Singh said.

The future of these youths will not be impacted by the scheme, there is a “guarantee” for that, he said.

During the interaction, the defence minister also asserted that India and its borders are “totally secure” and the people of the country should have full faith in the armed forces.

On the Agnipath scheme, the defence minister said “whatever changes may be brought in the system, and further looking into their future, the provision of reservation in services, all these have been ensured”.

“And, if we see any drawbacks in it, then we are also ready to rectify them,” he added.

The minister said that the government will be “open to changes, if required”.

Earlier in his interaction, he also said, “Everyone will accept the fact that there should be youthfulness in the armed forces”.

“Normally, 30-50 years has been the age range of our jawans. But when jawans aged 18-20 will join as Agniveers, then the risk-taking spirit will be a bit higher,” he said, adding, senior jawans are discharging their responsibilities well, there is no two ways about it.

In June 2022, the Centre rolled out the Agnipath recruitment scheme for short-term induction of personnel into the armed forces with an aim to bring down the age profile of the three services.

The scheme provides for recruiting youngsters in the age bracket of 17 years and a half to 21 years for a four-year period with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.

During the event, the defence minister also shared anecdotes from his nearly 50-year-long political journey.

Asked how he reacted to questions raised by many, including members of the opposition, on the India-China border issue, Singh said they never made him uncomfortable.

“In keeping with the country’s interests, I tell them (opposition) whatever I can. But in defence, there are many things which have strategic importance and we cannot tell them publicly. We try to steer clear of telling those things, whether it is (about) northern, western or eastern sector,” he said.

“I want to assure the people of the country…they should have full faith in our Army and security personnel,” Mr Singh said.

Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-and-half-year-long confrontation at certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

“Having been the defence minister for five years and home minister before that, I want to assure the people of the country based on what I have seen, understood and assessed that our borders and our country are totally secure,” he added.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area.

The ties between India and China nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process in 2021 on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.

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Leh, Ladakh:

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday celebrated the festival of colours, Holi, with soldiers in Leh. He was accompanied by Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande and General Officer Commanding, Fire and Fury Corps Lt Gen Rashim Bali.

The minister was initially scheduled to visit the Siachen area, the world’s highest battlefield, for the celebration but couldn’t do so due to the prevailing ‘inclement weather’. He spoke to the commanding officer deployed at Siachen over the phone and promised to visit them as soon as possible.

Speaking to jawans and other senior defence personnel on the occasion, he said, “If Delhi is our national capital, Ladakh is a capital of bravery and valour. Visiting you all to celebrate Holi makes this one of the happiest moments for me. Siachen is no ordinary land. It is an unshakeable symbol of India’s sovereignty and determination. It represents our national determination,” he said.

Delighted to celebrate Holi with the soldiers of Indian Armed Forces in Leh, Ladakh. pic.twitter.com/lgff7UXxhA

— Rajnath Singh (मोदी का परिवार) (@rajnathsingh) March 24, 2024

“I have said it many times before and will say it again: it is our duty to take care of you, your children, your parents…your family. We are always ready for that. I do not need to tell you here that with the same diligence with which you are working for this country by dedicating your body and mind, our government is also working for the betterment of our armed forces,” he added.

On the occasion, Singh requested Army Chief Manoj Pande to establish a new tradition by telling the Air chief and Navy chief that whenever a festival comes around, they should ring in the celebrations the day before with soldiers and armed forces personnel deployed at the frontiers and protecting the country’s sovereignty in the face of grave adversities.

From the snowy peaks of Kargil to the scorching deserts and plains of Rajasthan, or in a submarine deployed in the deep sea, the forces are ever-alert and awake to all external threats, he said.

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Ranchi, Bihar:

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a telephonic conversation with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday.

The two leaders, as they engaged in a conversation, discussed a range of bilateral, regional security and defence cooperation issues.

“They reviewed the recent bilateral events such as the INDUS-X Summit held in New Delhi in February 2024, and the bilateral Tri-Service exercise ‘Tiger Triumph’ which has also commenced in India on March 18, 2024,” the Defence Ministry release read.

Meanwhile, Lloyd Austin appreciated the important role being played by the Indian Navy in conducting anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean Region.

“The two Ministers discussed ways and means to implement the India-US Defence Cooperation Roadmap which was concluded last year. Other defence industrial cooperation issues such as repair of US naval ships in Indian shipyards were also briefly discussed,” according to the Ministry of Defence.

It was during the India-US Ministerial 2+2 Dialogue in November 2023, that Rajnath Singh and Lloyd Austin had last met in New Delhi.

India and the United States are all set for ‘Tiger Triumph 2024’ as the bilateral, tri-service exercise between the two nations commenced on Monday and will take place until March 31.

“In consonance with the established partnership between India and the US, a bilateral tri-service humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) exercise between both countries, Tiger Triumph-24, is scheduled on the Eastern Seaboard from March 18-31,” the Ministry of Defence said in an official press release.

Notably, the exercise is aimed at developing interoperability for conducting HADR operations and refining Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to enable rapid and smooth coordination between forces of both countries.

The US would be represented by US Navy ships with embarked troops of the US Marine Corps and US Army.

The harbour phase is scheduled for March 18-25.

Moreover, personnel from both navies would participate in training visits, subject matter expert exchanges, sports Events and social interactions.

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