No power on earth can stop the Indian Army from patrolling, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said today in parliament on the dispute with China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. Responding to opposition questions on the Chinese not allowing Indian soldiers to patrol traditional posts, he said: “That is the reason for our fight with China.”

After a statement in Rajya Sabha on the India-China dispute, Rajnath Singh also assured opposition members that there would be no change in patrolling patterns in eastern Ladakh, the site of the dispute.

He was responding to Congress member AK Antony’s comment on Indian soldiers being pushed back from traditional patrolling points.

“The patrolling pattern is traditional and well-defined. No power on earth can stop Indian soldiers from patrolling,” Mr Singh told Mr Antony, who was Defence Minister in the previous Congress government.