Defence minister Rajnath Singh praised Operation Sindoor while interacting with the Indian community in Germany, saying that all of India's neighbours are fine, except for one which is “troublesome”.
Singh's remarks come on Wednesday, April 22, a year after the deadly terrorist attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam that shocked the nation, in which 26 people died, most of whom were civilians.
During his address in Germany, Singh gave a cryptic warning warning to Pakistan, saying that if a neighbour tries to create trouble, then “dot, dot, dot”.
Hailing the Indian forces for Operation Sindoor, which was conducted from May 7-10 last year in response to the Pahalgam terror attack and aimed at destroying terror targets in Pakistan, Singh said that India's military has become stronger than before.
“There is no need to tell you what our army has done in Operation Sindoor... Our military power has also become stronger than before,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“There is no need to tell you what our army has done in Operation Sindoor... Our military power has also become stronger than before,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}"India has never attacked any country in the world from its own side... But if a neighbour tries to create trouble, then 'dot, dot, dot'... All neighbours are fine, only one is troublesome..." he added.
The defence minister also spoke about how India has transitioned from depending on imports for defence requirements to now becoming an exporter.
"Earlier, when it came to defence, to meet our defence requirements, we used to rely on imports, and our dependence was on imports. But there has been a huge change in this. Now, instead of being importers, we have become exporters. You will be happy to know that this time we have exported approximately ₹39,000 crores of defence items..." he said.
Rajnath Singh on Strait of Hormuz
During his three-day visit to Germany, Singh also addressed the German Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence and Security on the first day and spoke about the ongoing tensions in West Asia.
Singh said that the what is happening in the Strait of Hormuz, which is a key energy trade waterway and is currently under restrictions from both Iran and the United States, are not distant events but have major global implications, particularly on India as it depends on imports for its energy requirements.
"For a developing country like India, which relies on the West Asian region for a significant share of its energy requirements, disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are not distant events, they are stark realities with direct implications for our security and economic stability," he said.
He added, however, that India has adopted a proactive and coordinated strategy to deal with these issues.