August 6, 2013
Sukhendu Sekhar Roy seeks clarification from UPA Govt on what action has been taken to combat ambush incidents close to LoC
Excerpts of AITMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy’s speech on August 06, 2013 in RS:
Sir, on behalf of my Party, the All India Trinamool Congress, I pay homage to the five Indian Army personnel belonging to the Bihar Regiment who were martyred in the early hours of 6th August, 2013.
Sir, we do not expect the hon. Defence Minister to come out and discuss defence strategy on the floor of the House, but we definitely expect that the statement that has been made by the hon. Defence Minister is a meaningful one. I am afraid, there is a sharp difference between the heading of the Statement made by the hon. Defence Minister and the contents contained in the first paragraph. As per the heading, this was an incident of ambush by Pak Army, whereas the last two lines of the first paragraph say, “The ambush was carried out by, approximately, 20 heavily armed terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniforms.“ So, it is not clear in this statement whether it was the handiwork of the Pakistani Army or whether the persons dressed in Pakistani Army uniform belonged to the regular Pakistan Army or not. This has not been clarified. So, I seek a clarification from the hon. Defence Minister on this point. That is my first point.
Secondly, all the time we have seen that non-State actors are put on job either to attack our borders or to attack within the territory of India in different forms. Even in 1965, when the Indo-Pak war broke out, before the outbreak of the war, there was infiltration and continuous violation of Line of Control. Shastriji, as the Prime Minister at that point of time, in a broadcast to the nation on 12th August, 1965, said, “When freedom is threatened and territory and integrity is in danger, there is only one duty, the duty to meet the challenge with all our might.“ Is the Government or the hon. Defence Minister in a position to assure this House that India will put all its might to counter the infiltration and the ghastly show of muscle power all the time that they are indulging in. This is my second clarification that I would like to have from the hon. Defence Minister.
Thirdly, even in 1971 Indo-Pak war, Babu Jagjivan Ram on 3rd December, 1971, as Defence Minister, said, “That he directed the Indian Army to silence the guns of the aggressor at source within their own territory.“ From where the attack is coming, that area should be identified and all those guns should be silenced. Will the Defence Ministry or the Government of India take this step? Again and again, these things are happening. Finally, in January 2013, many hon. Members, including our hon. Leader of the Opposition, stated about the incident when the heads of our two soldiers were chopped out and their bodies were taken away within enemy’s territory. At that time, the Chief of our Army Staff said that the time had come to give a befitting reply to the enemy. Is the Government ready to give a befitting reply to the aggressor, to the infiltrators and the non-state actors? Thank you.
