Mistakes that hurt countrymen should not happen: Rajnath to troops
Speaking in the border town of Rajouri, the defence minister asked the soldiers to “win the hearts of countrymen” and ensure that “lapses are not repeated which hurt the countrymen”.
As controversy continued over the issue of free speech, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday came out in support of freedom of expression, but with the rider that it should be within the legal framework.
“I believe in freedom of expression but it has to be within a reasonable legal framework,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a DRDO function when asked for his views on the controversy surrounding Delhi University student Gurmehar Kaur who had launched a campaign against RSS-backed ABVP.
However, Parrikar clarified that his comments were not related to any particular incident.
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On the issue of the alleged leak of question papers of an army recruitment examination, Parrikar said the Defence Ministry has recommended a CBI inquiry as the case has inter-state ramifications.
The Army had on Thursday ordered a high-level court of inquiry (CoI) into the alleged question paper leak. Referring to the Kabul blasts and possible use of chemical weapons, he said the army should be well-prepared to tackle any challenge.
“As per the reports which are coming from the southern and northern parts of Afghanistan, I have seen photographs of the local population having suffered from blisters…. (due to possible use of some chemical weapons). At this moment, I don’t have confirmation on this matter but the photos are quite distressing,” he said. The minister said India will have to be prepared for any kind of nuclear or chemical attack, adding the armed forces must remain alert and prepared for any challenge. More than a dozen people were killed in two terror attacks in Kabul on Tuesday.
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