A day after the all party meeting at which all national political parties extended support to the Government of India on the Galwan Valley clash issue, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder on Saturday urged the Centre to changes its policy to allow soldiers at the borders to open fire in their own defence and for protecting the nation’s territorial integrity.Making it clear that he did not support sending soldiers to the LAC without weapons, the Chief Minister said in his Facebook Live 7th edition of #AskCaptain that the Government of India policy should be that “if they kill one of ours, we should kill 5 of theirs.” It was absolutely wrong to send soldiers unarmed or not to allow them to defend themselves, he said, adding that when he and his Army colleagues used to go patrolling, during his posting along the LAC for two years, they carried all kinds of weapons.“We are in the nuclear era and we are carrying and being beaten by dandas!” quipped the Chief Minister, expressing shock at the fact that 20 Indian soldiers, including four from Punjab, had lost their lives in an attack by lathi wielding and stone throwing Chinese, who he asserted simply could not be trusted.
Lamenting the demise of four Punjabi soldiers in the Galwan Valley barbarism, the Chief Minister said it was extremely unfortunate, even though “as army men we are always prepared to take the bullet.” Besides increasing the compensation for their next of kin from Rs 12 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, his government has decided to name schools after the martyrs, said Captain Amarinder, adding that he had spoken to two of the families so far.On the issue of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannu extending support to China, the Chief Minister said he was not only propagating but actively involved in promoting separatism and terrorism in India. Asserting that he would not allow Pannu to succeed in his divisive agenda and disturb the state’s peace at any cost, Captain Amarinder dared the pro-Khalistani propagandist to come to Punjab instead of hiding out in other countries to spread his vicious campaign.Declaring his commitment to sustaining Punjab’s peace at all costs, the Chief Minister said in the absence of peace, no industry will come to the state, and there will no jobs for our children. The state’s economy will be in shambles if forces inimical to peace are allowed to spread their fangs, he added.