Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that PoK “was, is, and will remain ours”. He also hit out at the opposition parties for raking up the China issue.

Addressing an election rally in UP’s Ballia,  Singh said, “Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) was ours, is ours, and will remain ours.” Elaborating on his statement during another rally in Lucknow, Singh said, “I had said three years ago that we don’t need to attack (anyone) to capture PoK. One day, people there will themselves demand to join India. You must have seen that such a situation has been created there today.”

“I would like to appeal to international human rights bodies to see how people in PoK are being harassed,” Singh added. He was accompanied by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow. “These elections are also to see who has raised the country’s stature in the world,” he further said.

Accusing the opposition parties of spreading confusion on the China issue, he said, “India has not lost anything. We will not let India lose anything. Talks are ongoing … we are confident that a solution will be found.”

The Defence Minister said that after four phases of elections, political analysts not only in India but across the world believe that the BJP is going to form the government by winning more than 400 seats.