Befitting reply will be given to those who cast evil eye on India: Rajnath

Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday warned India's "neighbour" that if anyone tried to harm the country, a befitting reply will be given.

He was speaking at a rally in Chhattisgarh's tribal-dominated Kanker district.

India has emerged as a powerful country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and it is not weak anymore, he said.

"I want to tell our neighbour, if anyone tries to cast evil eye on us, a befitting reply will be given," the minister added.

He also said that the influence of the Left Wing Extremism has declined and it is restricted to just 10-12 districts due to the effective action taken by the Modi government in the last nine years.

The Naxal menace would have been wiped out from Chhattisgarh had the Congress government in the state cooperated fully, he claimed.

Notably, elections are due in Chhattisgarh by year-end.

The defence minister also alleged that forced religious conversions were on rise in the state, particularly in Bastar, and said the Congress government should put a stop to them.

Prime minister Modi has the same commitment to the welfare of Dalits, tribals and backward classes as former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had, the senior BJP leader said.

Congress, after independence, gave priority to itself and its politics and neglected tribals, he alleged.