New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said he has the courage to discuss in the Lok Sabha the issue of the border standoff between Indian and Chinese militaries.
While initiating a discussion on the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission and other achievements in the space sector in the House, Singh referred to the country’s border security and the role of science in protecting the nation’s frontier.
At this, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury referred to the border standoff with China.
The defence minister responded that he has the courage to discuss the issue.
“Puri Himmat Hain (I have full courage). I am ready for a discussion, I have the confidence to discuss it,” he asserted.
The ties between India and China have been under severe strain since the deadly clashes in Galwan Valley in June 2020.
The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.
India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the LAC were key for normalisation of overall ties.
He also said the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, which will provide 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies, is a gift by a grateful nation to the women scientists of space agency ISRO.
Initiating a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the success of Chandrayaan-3 mission and other achievements of the nation in the space sector, Singh said that of the 424 foreign satellites launched by India so far, 389 have been launched in the last nine years of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said that with the successful launch of foreign satellites, India’s space sector is rapidly gaining a prominent place in the world.
“This special session of Parliament is dedicated to the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’. In such a situation, I consider the bill as a gift presented by a grateful nation to the women scientists of ISRO, and along with them the entire female scientific community of India,” he said amid thumping of desks by members.
He said the House and the nation salute, appreciate and express gratitude to the women scientists of ISRO and every Indian daughter.
The defence minister emphasised that while science is crucial for the development of a nation and humanity at large, culture holds equal importance. He voiced the government’s resolve to provide equal importance to both aspects.
“Science is value neutral. It can give us knowledge of nuclear power, but it is our culture which tells us whether we use that power in the form of energy for our own development or in the form of a weapon to destroy others,” he said.
He said it doesn’t matter how much progress science makes, it will remain incomplete without culture and values.
“As Martin Luther King said: ‘Science gives man knowledge, which is power. Religion gives man wisdom, which is control’. Those who say that we should get rid of our culture and adopt science, they must understand that culture and science complement each other,” he said.
(PTI)

Press Trust of India