PIB, August 8

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has said the decision taken by the Government over the last few days in nullifying Article 370 and creating two Union Territories in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has ended the discrimination faced by the people during the last 70 years.  Addressing the annual general body meeting of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) in New Delhi today, Shri Rajnath Singh said the groundwork towards a permanent solution for this issue has been laid during the first term of Government led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The decision will have some effects, he added saying that the neighbouring country is not happy and it will try to disturb peace. Our Armed Forces have accepted the security challenge and are fully prepared to meet any threats. 

Shri Rajnath Singh urged IDSA to carry out careful, meaningful and five-dimensional analysis as new threats emerged in cyber and space domains in addition to the traditional threats from land, air and sea.  He also suggested that IDSA can study and speed up processes of import of Defence merchandise.

Raksha Mantri said the Government adopted neighbourhood first policy which treats countries sharing land as well as maritime boundary with India as our neighbours.  It was reflected by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s first visit abroad in his second term to Maldives and Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh’s visit to Mozambique. 

Earlier, Shri Rajnath Singh was unanimously elected President of IDSA by its Executive Council.  Shri Sujan R. Chinoy, Director General, IDSA, welcomed Raksha Mantri and briefed him on the role and functions of IDSA.  Shri Rajnath Singh planted a sapling at the IDSA premises in the presence of scholars and members of IDSA.