‘ Every infiltration bid in J& K will be foiled’

■ Sitharaman backs Swaraj’s statement in Parliament over Doklam issue

I am here as Raksha Mantri to take care of our borders to stop infiltration. I will keep doing that... — Nirmala Sitharaman,

Defence minister

Bengaluru, Aug. 4: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday asserted that every attempt at infiltration along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir from across the border would be thwarted.

“I am here as Raksha Mantri to take care of our borders to stop infiltration. I will keep doing that irrespective of what is happening there ( in Pakistan). Our stand remains the same. Every attempt of infiltration will be thwarted,” she said. Ms Sitharaman was responding to a query on infiltration bids after the recent elections in Pakistan in which Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek- eInsaf emerged as the single largest party with the cricketer- turned- politician set to take over as PM.

About Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s statement that external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had “buckled and prostrated herself in front of Chinese power” on the Doklam issue, she said Ms Swaraj had comprehensively answered it in Parliament, and there was no point in repeating it.

Ms Sitharaman said she stands by the statement of Ms Swaraj, who had told Parliament that the IndiaChina face- off over Doklam was resolved through “diplomatic maturity without losing any ground” and status quo has been maintained.

Mr Gandhi had earlier tweeted, “Amazing how a lady like Sushmaji has buckled and prostrated herself in front of Chinese power. Absolute subservience to the leader means our brave jawan has been betrayed on the border.” He had also tagged a report on a US Congresswoman claiming China has “quietly resu- med” its activities in the Doklam area and asserting that neither Bhutan nor India sought to dissuade it. The claim, however, was denied by New Delhi.

Asked about the “update” on India’s move to procure S- 400 Triumf air defence missile systems from Russia for the Indian Air Force and if it was pending because of the US issue, she said, “Well, update on 2+ 2 dialogue is that it is happening on September 6 in New Delhi.”