India needs strong leader in times of global conflicts, says S Jaishankar

Shimla, May 28

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today said that people must vote for the BJP so that “India gets a strong and decisive leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third term amidst the ongoing global conflicts”.

Have ‘great respect’ for Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama has been in India since 1959. We did not call him, so his presence here in India is not something new. Let them (China) get used to this fact. We have great respect for the Dalai Lama and his commitment to the Tibetan cause, so it is a matter we leave to him. S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister

“The next four or five years are very difficult times globally and in such times, we need a Prime Minister who has the standing and prestige of being a strong leader, whose statesmanship is acknowledged worldwide,” he said at a media interaction on “Viksit Bharat’ here. He added that the world was in a very tense situation with conflicts erupting at several places.

He said besides the issues on the Indian border, the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel in Gaza and with Iran had made it even more imperative to vote for a strong leadership “as the conflicts are unlikely to end quickly”. He added that ever since Modi became Prime Minister, India had shown to the world that “we would no longer take things lying down, be it China or Pakistan”.

Jaishankar said, “The budget spending along the border with China has been enhanced from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore, besides strengthening logistics and enhancing deployment.” He admitted that China had strengthened infrastructure along the border and said “India, too, has launched the Vibrant Village project for strengthening infrastructure like roads, bridges and communication along the border villages”.

The Foreign Minister said, “India has made it amply clear that there is bound to be 100 reactions from us if Pakistan continues sponsoring terrorism. If Pakistan wants relations to normalise, it will have to stop infiltration and sponsoring terrorism.” He emphasised the need for enhancing manufacturing to strengthen infrastructure, which would in turn help reduce dependence on China.

He also defended the Agnipath scheme for the recruitment of Agniveers in the Army. He assured the gathering that the NDA government remained committed to protecting the interest of growers, who had been demanding an increase in import duty on apple.