PANAJI: Ruling out war with Pakistan, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday said that neighbouring country however is waging a proxy war with India, and would be given a befitting reply.
Informally interacting with the media in the city, the Defence Minister refuted that the neighbouring country has mobilised its troops along the Line of Control. “Such a move would have been the first sign of a war,” he added.
Parrikar further said that the Border Security Force (BSF) definitely has an upper hand in the mortar shelling from across the border, and our soldiers have been instructed to respond aptly to the attacks from the other side. “I may be the most unpopular person in Pakistan, but then I never wanted to improve my popularity in that country,” he quipped.
Speaking further, the Defence Minister said that 95 per cent of the ex-servicemen have already got the benefits of the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme and they are happy with it. “I have met a number of associations of these veterans, including one in Goa, and all of them are satisfied,” he informed, retorting that he is not worried about the rest, who are indulging themselves in politics, over the issue.
“As for the remaining 4 to 5 per cent ex-servicemen, including those who had participated in wars during the 1960s and 1970s, there is a technical problem,” Parrikar observed, stating that many of such ex-servicemen have no valid documents. “I have recently issued a special order as regards completing their paperwork within a month’s time, with preparation of affidavits, if necessary,” he said, adding that the problems faced by these 4 to 5 per cent veterans would be sorted out within next two months.
Furthermore, the Defence Minister said that there is no emergency-like situation in the country, and a day-long ban by the government on the NDTV television news channel, should not be interpreted likewise. He also said that the related concern of the Goan media would be conveyed to the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting.
Linking the particular decision of the Narendra Modi government to security issue, Parrikar said that the previous government had issued an order after the 2008 Mumbai attacks as regards not telecasting live the anti-terror operations of the Indian Forces.
“The particular television channel clearly violated these guidelines due to live sharing of anti-terror operation details, in the Pathankot attack,” he concluded.