Ahmedabad: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said talks between India and China are going smoothly and in a good environment, and India will never bow down.
Singh, who is in Ahmedabad to campaign for BJP candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elections, said India has become a powerful country from a military standpoint and wants to maintain good relations with its neighbours.
”India is no longer a weak India. India has also become a powerful country from a military point of view. We want to maintain good relations with our neighbouring countries,” the minister said when asked about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s accusation against the Narendra Modi government over Chinese aggression.
Talks between India and China are going on smoothly and in a good environment over whatever issues there are, he said.
”I understand that we should wait for the outcome of the talks. But I want to assure the countrymen that India has not bowed down anywhere, nor will it ever bow down,” he said.
Singh also expressed confidence that India’s defence exports, which crossed the Rs 21,000 crore mark in the financial 2023-24, will increase going forward.
”In 2014, we exported Rs 600 crore defence items, but now the figure has crossed Rs 21,000 crore, and I can say that it is going to increase,” he said.
The minister said the Modi government is committed to ensuring that defence items, whether missiles and other weapons, bombs or tanks, should be made in India and by Indians. ”Today, we have achieved defence production worth more than Rs 1 lakh crore,” he said. (Agencies)
Meanwhile, he said, the BJP’s ‘sankalp patra’ (manifesto) for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls is a concrete guarantee of a new, capable and developed India whereas the one issued by the Congress is divisive and is inspired by appeasement politics.
The Congress failed to eradicate poverty during its long rule, while the Narendra Modi government managed to get 25 crore citizens out of poverty in the past 8-9 years, Singh said.
“The Congress lacks leadership, policy and intention to take the country forward. The BJP government is committed to bring India among the top three economies by 2027. Our sankalp patra is the concrete guarantee of a new, capable and developed India. The Congress’ manifesto is divisive and inspired by appeasement,” he claimed.
Asserting that India will become the world’s third largest economy by 2027, Singh said there were several reasons for it, foremost among them being the strong and credible leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has vision, mission and passion.
On the other hand, the Congress does not have a leader, policy or intention, adding that the party was the “biggest organiser” of the “Olympics of corruption” that was played in 10 years of UPA rule.
“The Congress talked about ending poverty since the times of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. But failed to do so despite ruling for over 50 years. In just the last 8-9 years, our government has succeeded in bringing 25 crore people above the poverty line,” Singh said.
He asserted that the Modi government was still not content and wanted to completely eradicate poverty from the nation in the next 5-10 years.
Singh said the BJP has already started its Lok Sabha victory march from Gujarat’s Surat, where the party’s Mukesh Dalal won unopposed after nomination form of the Congress’ Nilesh Kumbhani was rejected and others in the fray withdrew.
“However, the Congress is claiming democracy is in danger in the country. What is the basis for this? Even before this, in Lok Sabha, 28 members were elected unopposed, which included members from Congress, Samajwadi Party, National Conference etc. The Congress is talking such things out of the desperation of defeat,” the senior BJP leader said.

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Agencies