Solution to Doklam stand-off to be found soon: Rajnath Singh
NEW DELHI: A solution to the “deadlock” at Doklam between India and China would be found soon, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said as he made it clear that the country was well equipped to protect its sovereignty.
The minister, while speaking at an event of the Sino-India border guarding force ITBP here, said he hoped that China would make a positive move to resolve the issue.
“There is a deadlock going on at Doklam between India and China. I believe there will be a solution soon. I hope China will undertake a positive initiative (to resolve the stand-off ),” he said.
The minister said the world knew that India had never cast an evil eye on any country, had never attacked a nation nor did it harbour any expansionist attitude.
“We never want to expand our borders...but I can say that our security forces and defence forces possess all the might to protect our borders,” Singh said.
India and China have been locked in a face-off in the Doklam area of the Sikkim sector after Indian troops stopped the Chinese Army from building a road in the area. China claimed it was constructing the road within their territory and had been demanding immediate pull-out of the Indian troops from the disputed Doklam plateau.
Bhutan says Doklam belongs to it but China claims it to be its ter- ritory. China had been ramping up rhetoric against India over the last few weeks demanding immediate withdrawal of Indian troops from Doklam.
The Chinese state media, particularly, had carried a barrage of critical articles on the Doklam stand-off slamming India. The minister, in the same breath, lauded the bravery and grit of the IndoTibetan Border Police (ITBP), saying it was due to their prowess on the border that “no one can dare cast an evil eye on India”.
The ITBP is tasked to guard the 3,488-km long Sino-India border and works under the command of the home ministry.