Union minister Ramdas Athawale calls for decisive battle to reclaim PoK

Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday demanded the government launch a decisive battle to reclaim Pakistanoccupied Kashmir PoK asserting diplomatic efforts have not yielded desired results and the territory must be brought back under Indian control reported news agency PTIAthawale remarked that halting the military action against Pakistan after launching Operation Sindoor on May 7 was not a good move reported PTICeasefire was not a good thing Indian governments action against terrorists has not stopped Our defence forces are fighting against terrorists We will continue our fight against terrorism he said reported PTIThe veteran politician from Maharashtra who heads the Republican Party of India Athawale a BJP ally praised the Modi governments swift retaliation after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam town of Kashmir in which 26 persons most of them tourists were killedSpeaking at the Bharat Jindabad Yatra organised by his party in Mumbai Athawale said A proposal has been sent to Pakistan to return PoK to us If it refuses to do so there should be a decisive battle against Pakistan It is our firm demand to get it PoK back reported PTILike the BJP and the Congress the RPI Athawale has decided to hold Bharat Jindabad Yatra across Maharashtra where we will give slogans like Pakistan murdabad bring pack PoK and condemning terrorism My party will organise the yatra in other parts of the country also he informed reported PTIThe Minister of State for Social Justice hailed the success of Operation Sindoor under which Indian armed forces targeted terror hubs in PoK and deep inside PakistanThe way Pakistansponsored terrorists killed 26 people in Pahalgam and the Indian government retaliated by killing more than 100 terrorists proves our strength The hideouts of terrorists were destroyed in Operation Sindoor he said reported PTIAthawale expressed optimism about Indias chances of reclaiming Pakistanoccupied Kashmir I believe PoK will soon be with India he asserted reported PTIThe Union minister asserted India does not need support from other countries in dealing with its national security challengesResponding to a question about China backing Pakistan while India not receiving similar support from other nations in its fight against terrorism Athawale remarked India and its Army are very strong India is no longer the same country it used to be in the past We do not want support from the US or its president Donald Trump reported PTIAthawale emphasised that India is firm in its stance against terrorismIt is true that China and some other countries are supporting Pakistan But India and our Prime Minister Narendra Modi are serious about fighting terrorism he maintained reported PTIHe emphasised India does not want any thirdparty involvement in its discussions with Pakistan on issues such as terrorism as New Delhi believes they must remain bilateralOn a separate note when asked about the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra the Union minister demanded 15 seats for his party in the Mumbai civic bodyThe RPI Athawale should get some seats to contest in the upcoming civic body elections ZP Zilla Parishad and other local bodies We demand at least 15 seats to contest and deputy mayor post for RPI Athawale in the BMC Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections he addedWith inputs from PTIatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params