New Delhi, Aug 22: Accusing Pakistan Army Chief of having “lottere (thief-like) mentality,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that the neighbouring country continues to live in a state of delusion.
Addressing a function here, the Defence Minister said, “The Chief of the Pakistan Army, knowingly or unknowingly, has pointed towards a thief mentality, which Pakistan has been a victim of since its birth…We must break this delusion of the Pakistani Army. “
He said, “Due to ‘Operation Sindoor,’ such a delusion should not have arisen in their minds in the first place. But we must ensure that alongside India’s prosperity, our culture, and our economic prosperity, our defence capabilities and the spirit to fight for our national honour remain equally strong. We must ensure that in our civilisation, in our nation, that fighting spirit remains alive…”
He said, “Just a few days ago, we placed a new order with HAL to manufacture 97 Tejas fighter planes at a cost of approximately 66,000 crore rupees.”
“Prior to this, HAL had also been given an order to build 83 aircraft at a cost of 48,000 crore rupees. Our Tejas aircraft is set to become a splendid example of India’s indigenous defence capabilities,” the Defence Minister said, adding, “It’s not that we aren’t facing challenges in this endeavour, but we have resolved that we will find solutions to every problem and will definitely establish the full capability to build fighter aircraft in India.”
He said, “Today, we have also taken steps forward in the direction of building fifth-generation fighter aircraft. We have also moved towards manufacturing the aircraft’s engine in India itself. We are about to start engine manufacturing work in India with the French company Safran…” (KNO)
