Ladakh faceoff: 'India capable of giving befitting reply, sacrifice of jawans won't be in vain'

New Delhi, June 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Modi during today's interaction with the chief ministers on Wednesday said that India wants peace but when instigated, India is capable of giving a befitting reply, be it any kind of situation. He also said that the sacrifice of Indian soldiers killed in the Galwan Valley clash in Ladakh will not go in vain.

In his opening remarks on day two of the virtual conference with chief ministers on coronavirus, he also said that India wants peace but is capable of giving a befitting reply, if instigated. For us, the unity and sovereignty of the country is most important, he said.

India-China face-off: Loss of soldiers disturbing, painful, says Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

Modi said India has always tried that differences do not become disputes. Later, the prime minister and those attending the meeting observed silence of a few minutes as a mark of respect for the slain soldiers.

Twenty Indian soldiers including a colonel, were killed on Monday evening in a clash with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee didn't participate Modi's virtual meeting with chief ministers, scheduled to be held at around 3 pm on Wednesday, highly-placed sources in the state secretariat said.

The chief minister is likely to chair a review committee meeting scheduled to be held at the secretariat around the same time, the sources said.

Modi held the first round of consultation with the chief ministers of Punjab, Assam, Kerala and several other states and Union territories on Tuesday. He is scheduled to meet the chief ministers of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and the remaining Union territories on Wednesday.