Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday warned India's "neighbour" that if anyone tried to harm the country, a befitting reply will be given. Speaking at a rally in Chhattisgarh's Maoist-affected Kanker district, he also claimed that the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) would have been wiped out from the country had the Congress in Chhattisgarh "cooperated fully."

He also alleged that forced religious conversions were on rise in the state. The public meeting at the Narhardev High School ground was held to highlight the achievements of the Centre government in the last nine years. Referring to India's response after terrorist attacks in Uri (2016) and Pulwama (2019), Singh said India has emerged as a powerful country under Modi's leadership and it is not weak anymore.

"Some terrorists from Pakistan intruded into India and attacked our Jawans leaving many of them martyred. I was home minister then....PM held a meeting in Delhi and made a decision within ten minutes. Our army Jawans successfully neutralised terrorists on Pakistan's land," he said.

"I want to tell my neighbour that do not try to mess with India and do not try to provoke us. We will not only kill from this side, if required we can enter and kill on that side (across the border) too. Now India has changed,'" Singh added.

"Chhattisgarh has been struggling with the menace of Left Wing Extremism for a long time. Due to effective action under the leadership of PM Modi in nine years, its influence declined. Left Wing Extremism has now been restricted to only 10-12 districts. Some of these districts are in Chhattisgarh. I can claim the LWE would have been wiped out of the country had the Congress fully cooperated," Singh said.