Defense Minister Rajnath Singh lauded Operation Sindoor while interacting with the Indian community in Germany, saying all of India’s neighbors are fine, except for one “annoying” one.
Singh’s remarks on Wednesday, April 22, come a year after the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, that shocked the nation, killing 26 people, most of them civilians.
During his speech in Germany, Singh issued a vague warning to Pakistan, saying that if a neighbor tried to stir up trouble, he should “dot, dot, dot.”
Lauding the Indian forces in Operation Sindoor, which was carried out from May 7 to 10 last year in response to the Pahalgam terror attack and aimed to destroy terrorist targets in Pakistan, Singh said that the Indian Army has become stronger than before.
“There is no need to tell you what our army did in Operation Sindoor… Our military force has become stronger than before,” he said.
He added, “India has never attacked any country in the world from its side… But if one of the neighbors tries to create trouble, then ‘dot, dot, dot’… All the neighbors are fine, and only one is causing trouble…”.
The Defense Minister also spoke about how India has gone from being dependent on imports for defense needs to now becoming an exporting country.
“Earlier, when it comes to defence, to meet our defense requirements, we were dependent on imports, our dependence was on imports. But there has been a big change in this. Now, instead of being importers, we have become exporters. You will be pleased to know that this time we have almost exported.” $39,000 crore defense items…” he said.
Rajnath Singh on the Strait of Hormuz
During his three-day visit to Germany, Singh also addressed the German Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defense and Security on the first day and spoke about the ongoing tensions in West Asia.
Singh said that what is happening in the Strait of Hormuz, a major waterway for energy trade and currently subject to restrictions from both Iran and the United States, are not distant events but have major global implications, especially for India as it relies on imports to meet its energy needs.
He said, “For a developing country like India, which depends on the West Asia region for a large share of its energy needs, the disturbances in the Strait of Hormuz are not distant events, but rather stark facts that have direct implications for our security and economic stability.”
However, India has adopted a proactive and coordinated strategy to deal with these issues, he added.
