Nitin Gadkari said we do not want to occupy any country and land (File)

New Delhi:

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said India’s internal and external security is a priority for the BJP-led central government, asserting that the government has done in six years what the Congress could not do in 55 years of its rule.

He said there has been a rapid change in the country’s infrastructure and the borders are secure with state-of-the-art technology. He said road construction projects were started in full swing near Nepal and China borders from Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand to reach Mansarovar and the projects will be completed in next six months.

“We do not want to occupy any country and land. We do not want to enter any country. We have brotherly relationship with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh and in every situation, we stand by them,” he said.

“We don’t want to attack anyone but if anyone casts an evil eye (tirchi nazar) on us that eye will be gouged out,” Mr Gadkari told BJP workers from Rajasthan during an online address in Hindi.

The union road, transport and highways minister said Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was a temporary provision and those who framed it expected it would be removed soon.

“But this was not possible during the rule of Congress,” he claimed, adding it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah who removed Article 370.

He said internal and external security of the country is “our priority”, highlighting that incidents of terrorism are almost nil and Maoism is on the verge of elimination. “We have been saying from day one that nationalism is our goal,” he said.

“We want this nation to become happy, prosperous and powerful. We have worked with this idea to make India free from fear, hunger, terror and corruption. So, today, all our borders are safe,” Mr Gadkari said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)