NEW DELHI: Amid speculation whether the "
Ramzan ceasefire" in Jammu and Kashmir will be extended despite attacks on security personnel and civilians, defence minister
Nirmala Sitharaman said it was the
Army's duty to protect the borders and any unprovoked attack will be responded to.
"We honour the ceasefire. We have been given room to hit back when there is an unprovoked attack. The
defence ministry's role is not to assess whether ceasefire in J and K has been successful or not," Sitharaman said.
On whether the ceasefire will be extended, she said, "It is only announced for Ramzan."
The minister also countered the criticism that expenditure on defence is lagging, saying, "defence expenditure has been highest in 2017-18 if you look at it since 2004-05. In the same manner, it was second highest in 2016-17 and third highest in 2015-16. The fourth highest defence expenditure since 2004-05 was in 2014-15".
In the contest of a report of the parliamentary standing committee on defence, headed by BJP MP Maj Gen (retd) B C Khanduri, commenting on inadequate allocation of funds, she said this was not the tenor of the submissions in entirety.
Saying that she wanted to dispel the myth that funds have declined, the minister said in 2013-14, the capital outlay was Rs 86,740 crore and actual expenditure Rs 79,125 crore. The outlay went up to Rs 94,587 crore in 2014-15 and expenditure was Rs 81,886 crore. In 2016-17, capital outlay was Rs 86,340 crore and expenditure Rs 86,370 crore.
On the issue of opening of cantonment roads for civilian use, she said there were representations of MPs from all parties and the defence authorities were consulted in detail. "In all, 119 roads were blocked without following laid down procedures. Out of them, 80 roads have been opened while 24 remain closed. We have partially opened 15 roads," she said.
On families of service personnel complaining that their security has been affected, she said, "I met the wives of armed forces personnel and heard their concerns which were largely about security. I fully appreciate that," she said. Pointing out that there are traffic related issues, she said, "If you (army) decide to close roads based on intelligence input, you are welcome...But follow due procedure."
On being asked whether she can offer an assurance that there was no mala fide in the Rafale deal, Sitharaman said allegations have been levelled by a party about a deal price in its tenure which could not be concluded. "It is a price for aircraft not purchased..."I am assuring you that there is no scandal in Rafale," she said.
The minister also indicated that India is going ahead with an air defence missile deal with Russia despite recent Russian sanctions. "The S-400 deal has been on for a very long time and we have reached the final stage of negotiations. That explains it," she said.
Sitharaman's comments on the Ramzan ceasefire come in the backdrop of incidents of cross border firing along the Line of Control and international border in J&K and grenade attacks in the valley.
She said the Army was taken on board before the ceasefire or cessation of pro-active operations — barring specific intelligence or retaliation for an attack — in the state. "We honour the ceasefire. We have been given room to hit back when there is unprovoked attack." she said.