Amid ongoing tension at Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in Eastern Ladakh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Leh and forward locations on Friday morning to review the ground security situation, barely 18 days after a violent face-off in which 20 Indian army soldiers got killed.
According to news agency IANS sources, PM Modi reached Ladakh early morning and got briefed by the Army, Air Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police at one of the forward locations in Nimu.
Located at 11,000 feet above sea level, Nimu is among the tough terrains, surrounded by the Zanskar range and on the banks of the Indus.
PM Modi’s visit comes just a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called off his own visit to Ladakh. Singh was to visit Eastern Ladakh region to interact with soldiers deployed at the hostile border on Friday. He had plans to interact with the soldiers injured during the barbaric attack carried out by Chinese People’s Liberation Army on June 15.
The Prime Minister will also interact with injured soldiers at the military hospital in Leh, in what will be a morale booster for the forces. He is accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane.
Meanwhile, General Rawat will review the tri-services preparedness against the aggressive People’s Liberation Army (PLA), as well as understand the proposed de-escalation and disengagement process at the four stand-off points.
In a virtual meeting attended by 20 political parties in June after the Galwan clash, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured that India’s armed forces are “capable and nobody can take even an inch of our land.”
The Prime Minister said the country today has such capability that no one can even dare look towards an inch of our land. He said that today, Indian forces are capable of moving together across sectors.
On June 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stated that the sacrifice made by 20 soldiers who went down fighting against the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at Galwan Valley on June 15 night “will not go in vain”.
He also said that while India wants peace, it will give a “befitting reply” if provoked. “India’s integrity and sovereignty is supreme for us, and no one can stop us from defending it. Nobody should have any iota of doubt about this,” said Modi. “Indian troops went down fighting (maarte, maarte mare hain),” he had said.
PM Modi had said that the whole country is with the families of those who sacrificed their lives for the country. “India will defend every stone every inch of its territory. India is a peace-loving country which has always tried to maintain cooperative and friendly relations with neighbours, ” he added.
Meanwhile,the Government on Monday had banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, citing they are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.
The decision came amid a huge economic backlash against China following the June 15 clashes at Ladakh in which 20 Indian soldiers died in action and more than 70 were injured.
The Government also asserted that this move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users.
(With IANS inputs)