Rajnath's visit to Leh cancelled

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's planned visit to Ladakh on Friday has been rescheduled, official sources said on Thursday. It was not immediately known why the visit has been postponed.

The sources said Singh will "soon" undertake the visit to Ladakh to take stock of India's military preparedness in the region where Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a seven-week bitter border standoff.

The defence minister was to be accompanied by Chief of Army Staff Gen MM Naravane.

The Army Chief visited Ladakh on June 23 and 24 during which he held a series of meetings with senior Army officials and visited various forward areas in eastern Ladakh.

The Indian and Chinese armies are locked in a bitter standoff in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for the last seven weeks. The tension escalated manifold after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent clash in Galwan Valley on June 15.

The Chinese side also suffered casualties, but it is yet to give out the details.

Calling the ban on Chinese apps a "digital strike", Union Minister Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said India is wants peace, but if someone casts an evil eye, the country is capable of giving a befitting reply.

Hailing the "strong" leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he asserted, if our country has lost 20 soldiers, the toll is double on the Chinese side.

"Now you can hear about only two 'Cs' - Coronaviris and China. We believe in peace and solve problems through discussion, but if somebody casts an evil eye on India, we will give a befitting reply...if our 20 jawans have sacrificed their lives, then the toll is double on the Chinese side.

"You all must have noticed that they have not come out with any figure," Prasad, also the Union electronics and information technology minister, said addressing a virtual rally for the people of Bengal.