India will not cede an inch of land to anyone: Union defence minister Rajnath Singh
India Today
Referring to the opposition's criticism of the government on the eastern Ladakh standoff, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh said India will not cede an inch of land to anyone.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said India will not cede even an inch of its land to China and hoped that the remaining issues relating to the eastern Ladakh border standoff between the two countries will be resolved through dialogue.
Singh also said that India will give a befitting reply to anyone threatening its unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity as it no longer remained a "weak" country.
"Our political opponents keep raising certain questions without fully knowing the facts," he said, referring to the opposition's criticism of the government on the eastern Ladakh standoff.
"I do not want to go into what happened during the 1962 Sino-India war. But I want to assure the country as its defence minister that not an inch of land can go to China's occupation when we are there (in the government)," Singh said at an event organised by the Zee News.
He said the NDA government will never compromise on the country's pride and reputation at any cost.
The defence minister also said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has shown that if war takes place in any part of the world, it will have to be fought between the parties engaged and no third country would get involved easily.
The eastern Ladakh border standoff began in early May 2020 following violent clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in the Pangong Tso area.
