After pushing China to the margins of the G20 summit in New Delhi, India on Monday once again asserted its position along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by claiming that not even one square inch of Indian land has been occupied by China and that the armed forces are prepared to give “a bloody nose” to anyone engaging in any misadventure.
The categorical statement was made by Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Brigadier (Retd) BD Mishra while talking to media persons at the North Tech Symposium at IIT Jammu near Nagrota on Monday.
When reporters asked a specific question about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remark on China occupying a large chunk of land in Ladakh, Lt Governor Brig (Retd) BD Mishra maintained, “I will not comment on what Rahul Gandhi says, but I will say what I have seen with my own eyes, and the facts on the ground say that not a single inch of land has been occupied (by China).
“Whatever happened in 1962 is immaterial. But today we are in occupation of our land to the last inch,” he said.
Responding to reporters’ queries, Brig (Retd) Mishra said, “Our armed forces are prepared for any eventuality, and God forbid if the balloon goes up, people will get a bloody nose from us.”
He said the morale of troops is very very high. “Their intent is to defend every square inch of land. Nobody can dare to come towards India with any design to have a foothold here. I think all the credit goes to great leadership under Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.
At the symposium, Northern Army Commander Lt General Upendra Dwivedi also observed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh was “normal and very fine”.”As an army commander, the area I am guarding is our area, and I will not allow anyone to come on the Indian soil,” he said when asked about Gandhi’s recent statement.
The Northern Army Commander said the troops in the Northern Command are “always operationally prepared” and ready to take on challenges on the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, LAC with China and the counter-terrorist operations in the hinterland.
“Nearly 200 terrorists are waiting across the LoC to infiltrate and those attempting to infiltrate on this side are being eliminated by our alert troops on the border itself,” the Northern Army Commander said.
Pointing out that Rashtriya Rifles have been doing a commendable job in counter-terrorist operations, he said this was why people say that normalcy is in the offing. When asked about the spurt in terror activities in the Rajouri and Poonch districts on the South of Pir Panjal, he said though Pakistan is faced with economic and other problems, it tries to disturb peace wherever it finds it on this side of the border.
North Tech Symposium 2023, jointly organised by HQ Northern Comd, SIDM and IIT Jammu, was inaugurated by Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar, Vice Chief of Army Staff.
A large number of companies and start-ups are showcasing their military equipment at the North Tech Symposium. It had active participation from nearly 180 Indian Defence companies, including 50 start-ups, which will showcase their military equipment with cutting-edge technologies at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus on the outskirts of Jammu.
Speaking at the three-day event, Northern Army Commander Lt General Upendra Dwivedi said the army procured 256 indigenous items for defence and security needs at the last North Tech Symposium held in May 2022 and expects to acquire more equipment this time.
It is time for the industry and military to sit together to know about the requirements and each other. Last time when we carried out the North Tech Symposium, after that we procured 256 items,” he added.
This time we are looking to acquire more equipment, he said, adding “The best part is that this time, the technological demonstrations are much better than last time”.
The technologies and products on display covered a wide canvas, the prominent being, surveillance and situational awareness, tactical mobility, firepower, soldier/ force protection, communications, combat medical facility, robotics, simulators and training aids among others.
Lt Governor of UT of Ladakh Brig (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd), Lt Governor of UT of Jammu & Kashmir Manoj Sinha, and Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan attended the symposium on Monday.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Army Chief General Manoj Pande are scheduled to visit the venue of the North Tech Symposium on Tuesday.
