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This story is from December 31, 2022

Want good ties with neighbours, but not at cost of security: Rajnath

Union defence minister Rajnath Singh said Friday the country wants to have friendly relations with its neighbours, but it will not be done at the cost of national security. "If the neighbours extend a hand of friendship, then we will not let them down," he said while inaugurating the 90th annual pilgrimage of Sivagiri mutt at Varkala.
Want good ties with neighbours, but not at cost of security: Rajnath
Rajnath Singh (ANI)
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union defence minister Rajnath Singh said Friday the country wants to have friendly relations with its neighbours, but it will not be done at the cost of national security. "If the neighbours extend a hand of friendship, then we will not let them down," he said while inaugurating the 90th annual pilgrimage of Sivagiri mutt at Varkala.
Singh recalled former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's remark that 'we can change friends, but not our neighbours'.
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"Therefore, we need good and cordial relations with our neighbours. However, we will not compromise on national security to maintain good terms. We do not want good relations with anyone at the cost of our national security," he said.
He said the Centre is adopting the principles of Sree Narayana Guru and it gives the strength to protect our boundaries. "Gurudevan (Sree Narayan Guru) had stressed the importance of education for the development of the society. Beyond the religions and the castes, education should be the prime focus for the development of a country is what Gurudevan has taught us. He had even said that through education we could achieve our independence," the defence minister said.
Singh said the country has now grown into an economic power, and is ranked fifth in the world. "The Atmanirbhar Bharat programme launched by the Centre has helped the country achieve this."
The defence minister said whenever the country was in crisis and faced several issues, people like Gurudevan had given us the power and strength to march forward. He added that Mahatma Gandhi had met Gurudevan during the period of freedom struggle and this meeting had given him more power in his fight.
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