Will give befitting reply if Pakistan violates ceasefire, says Rajnath Singh

NASHIK: Army will give a "befitting" reply to Pakistan in case of violation of ceasefire, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said here today.

"Our Army will give a befitting reply to Pakistan if that country violates ceasfire... Kashmir is an integral part of India," Singh said while replying to queries from reporters here.

Asked about the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Russia and the decision of the Pakistani authorities not to petition in court for 26/11 mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi's voice sample, Rajnath said, ""Modiji ne haath nahi failaya tha lekin unka dono desh mein dosti ka prayatna tha (Modi did not plead but had only tried to foster friendly relations between the two countries)."

On 'Vyapam' scam in Madhya Pradesh, Rajnath accused the opposition of "maligning" the image of the BJP government.

"Opposition parties are maligning our image. Madhya Pradesh government led by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is transparent and it was Chouhan who had written a letter to the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe into the scam," Singh said.

On Kumbh Mela, Singh said, "I am happy and prayed to Almighty to make India a 'samrudhha' (prosperous) nation."

Singh attended 'Dhwajarohan' (flag-hoisting) ceremony that marked the beginning of the 'Simhastha Kumbh Mela 2015' in Trimbakeshwar near here this morning.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his cabinet colleagues Girish Mahajan and Sudhir Mungantiwar and office-bearers of the BJP also attended the press conference.