Befitting reply if any "superpower" hurts national pride: Rajnath Singh

India does not want a war butits soldiers are capable of giving befitting reply if any'superpower' hurts the country's pride, Defence MinisterRajnath Singh said on Thursday amid the eight-month-old borderstandoff with China.

''We don't want war and we are in favour ofprotecting everyone's security but I want to say this in clearterms that if any superpower wants to hurt our pride then oursoldiers are capable of giving them a befitting reply,'' Singhsaid.

The Defence Minister underlined that India neverwanted conflict with any nation and preferred to maintainpeace and friendly ties with its neighbours.

''It always wanted peace and friendly ties with itsneighbours because it's in our blood and culture,'' he said atthe fifth Armed Forces Veterans' Day at the HeadquartersTraining Command of the Indian Air Force in Bengaluru.

Referring to the standoff with China, he said theIndian soldiers displayed exemplary courage and patience andif that can be narrated then every Indian will feel proud.

''I can tell you that things that had never happenedin past took place this time.'' ''No one can imagine that the Indian Forces carried outsuch charismatic works but I dont want to get into thosedetails,'' he said.

Singh hailed the Indian soldiers who showedextraordinary courage in ''eliminating terrorists on thePakistan soil''.

The Union Minister called upon the veterans to playa significant role of sharing their experiences with thesociety and inspire youth to get into the defence services.

Speaking about the issues challenging the veterans,Singh said after retirement income reduces whileresponsibilities increase.

''I know that the government has done much for youbut I believe that much more needs to be done,'' he pointedout.

Singh said that under the Ex-servicemen ContributoryHealth Scheme (ECHS), the government has given powers to thelocal formation commanders to include private hospitals tooenabling them to nominate any private hospital.

Further, he recalled that Prime Minister NarendraModi cleared the long pending demand of One Rank One Pensionsoon after coming to power in 2014.

Prior to addressing the veterans,Singh along withChief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, placed wreaths andpaid homage at the War Memorial as part of Veterans' Daycelebration.

After the event, Singh and General Rawat interactedwith the veterans.

Next of kin, veterans and representatives of variousex-servicemen organisations were also present on the occasion.

Indian Armed Forces celebrate Veterans Day onJanuary 14 every year.

The day was chosen in recognition of the servicesrendered by the first Commander-in-Chief of Indian ArmedForces, Field Marshal K M Cariappa, who retired on this day in1953.PTI GMS RS BNWELCOME BNWELCOME

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)