Sanjha Morcha

Told soldiers to shoot enemy, not wait to be martyred: Parrikar

Told soldiers to shoot enemy, not wait to be martyred: Parrikar
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar inspects a guard of honour before commissioning the destroyer INS Chennai into the Indian Navy in Mumbai on November 21. AFP photo

Panaji, November 21

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said the armed forces in Kashmir have complete power to shoot at those wielding guns, instead of waiting for the terrorists to open fire and “getting martyred”.“When I took over as the Defence Minister, the first thing I told them (soldiers) that if you see machine gun or pistol in anyone’s hand, don’t expect that he has come to say hello to you. Before you get martyred, you should eliminate him,” Parrikar said addressing the BJP’s election rally at Vasco on Sunday evening.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)“In Kashmir our army was fighting with the terrorists. The Congress government had given them direction that till they (terrorist) fires at you, you don’t retaliate,” he said, claiming that the morale of the Army had gone up since Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government had come to power at the Centre.In the backdrop of intense ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Parrikar said the Indian troops had complete power and they were giving an apt reply to the enemy.“Our soldiers now don’t need to seek permission from the Defence Ministry to fire at the person who fires at them. They have complete power and they are giving apt reply to our enemy. I feel bad that some of our soldiers are martyred,” the former chief minister said.Parrikar said it took almost six to eight months for him to understand the functioning of the ministry.“I initially did not understand how the Defence Ministry works. It took six to eight months for me and after that I understood,” the former Goa chief minister said. PTI