Pithoragarh, November 20

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said India wanted good relations with its neighbours but warned that it would give a fitting reply to any country that attempts to occupy even an inch of its land.

Singh, a senior BJP leader, was in poll-bound Uttarakhand to launch the second leg of the ‘Shaheed Samman Yatra’ from Jhaulkhet Moonakot in Pithoragarh district.

“We want good ties with our neighbours. India has never attacked any country. Neither has it ever occupied a foreign territory. Having good ties with neighbours has been India's culture, but some people don't understand this. I don't know whether it is their habit or temperament,” he said. Naming Pakistan, Singh said it kept trying to destabilise India through terrorist activities and a stern message had already been given to it. — PTI