Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on January 3 said that though India has never initiated a war against any country, the same should not be taken for granted as when forced, New Delhi too can respond to such aggression.
He was speaking during the inauguration of the Siyom bridge in Arunachal Pradesh's Siang on January 3.
"India has neither attacked any country nor captured an inch of land from any country. However, this should not be taken for granted and as when situations demand, India can too respond," he added.
He further hailed Border Road Organisation (BRO) for its exceptional work and said that the government is committed to connecting all the border areas.
"In this era of changing priorities and interests of the nations, it's necessary for any nation to keep itself empowered. India has always been against war. Our Armed forces are always ready to face any kind of situation and BRO is walking along with them," he added.
The Defence Minister said that India wants to maintain cordial relations with its neighbours, adding, ''Indian Army has the capability to face any challenge along the border''.
Hailing BRO further, the Defence Minister said that in 2021, BRO completed 102 infrastructure projects, and in 2022 along with these 28 infra projects BRO has dedicated a record 103 infrastructure projects to the Nation.
He also appreciated the feat of construction of these 28 infrastructure projects at such an expeditious pace during this year.
''Such performance by the BRO is unprecedented and is a reflection of the grit and determination of the entire Border Roads Organisation under the stellar leadership of Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry, VSM, DG Border Roads,'' he added.
It is worth mentioning that in the last five years, 257 roads totaling 13,525.417 km in length have been created in 10 states and 3 union territories.
According to the government data, the BRO built 43 roads totaling 3,140 km in Ladakh and 64 roads totaling 3,097 km in Arunachal Pradesh over the previous five years.
There were 13 roads (884.309 km) in Rajasthan and 18 roads (663.535 km) in Sikkim and there were also 22 roads (947.21 km) in Uttarakhand and 61 roads (2381.963 km) in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir.