New Delhi: In a scathing attack on Pakistan and China, with whom India has been engaged in a standoff along the western and northern borders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech on Saturday, said those who challenged the country’s sovereignty, be it at the Line of Control (LoC) or the Line of Actual Control (LAC), have been given a “befitting reply in their own language”.
“From LoC to LAC, Indian Armed Forces have taught unforgettable lessons to our neighbours who dared to misadventure,” PM Modi said as he addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 74th Independence Day.
“They have been responded to in the language they understand,” he said and added that India stands committed to defeat forces that aid and abet terrorism and expansionism.
The Prime Minister further said that with their response to the Chinese transgressions in Ladakh, the entire world has seen what Indian soldiers can do.
“The entire country is moving forward with josh, inspired with a resolve and a belief in its capabilities,” the prime minister said.
Days after the military clash in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan valley on June 15 with Chinese troops in which 20 Indian soldiers were martyred, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had categorically stated in the all-party meeting that “no Indian post or territory has been occupied by anyone”.
He said that 20 of the country’s brave soldiers made the supreme sacrifice for the nation in Ladakh but also taught a lesson to those who had dared to look towards the motherland.
The Prime Minister further assured that “we are capable and nobody can take even an inch of our land.”
While on the one hand, the Army has been given a free hand to take necessary steps, India has also conveyed its position clearly to China through diplomatic means, PM Modi said.
He also assured the leaders of the parties that “the armed forces are leaving no stone unturned to protect the country, be it deployment, action or counter action, through land, sea or air, our forces are taking the necessary steps to protect the country.”
On the eve of the Independence Day on Friday, President Ram Nath Kovind had also sent out a clear warning that India is “capable of giving a befitting response to any attempt of aggression” as he addressed the nation.
Though Kovind did not name China, he slammed the neighbour’s “misadventure of expansion” at a time when the world needs to come together to fight against COVID-19, which he described as the “the greatest challenge before humanity”.
“The world now realises what our sages had said long ago: the global community is but one family; “Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam”. However, even while the world community needs to fight together against the greatest challenge before humanity, some in our neighbourhood tried to carry out their misadventure of expansion,” Kovind said.
Further, in his Independence Day address, PM Modi noted the development of the newly formed Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
“This one year is a year of the new journey of development for Jammu and Kashmir. This one year is the year of the rights received by the women and the Dalits in Jammu and Kashmir. This one year is also the year of a life of dignity for the refugees in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
The Prime Minister also thanked all the sarpanches across Jammu and Kashmir, who are putting in a great effort to ensure that development reaches everyone in the union territory and it progresses along with the rest of the country.
