Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation on Tuesday evening. The address will begin at 4 pm, a tweet from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Monday.
PM Modi’s address comes amid tension with China over a stand-off in the Ladakh sector where 20 Indian soldiers were killed on June 15. India has increased patrolling and deployd troops since the stand-off where India and Chinese soldiers came to blows.
The prime minister has more than once reiterated that no Indian territory is under enemy’s control and that there are no Chinese outposts on Indian land in Ladakh. PM Modi had held an all-party meeting too on the issue where he paid tribute to the bravehearts who were killed in the line of duty, praised the unity shown by the various political parties and assured that Chinese have not entered Indian territory.
The Congress, however, criticised PM Modi’s statement and has since been demanding proof from the government on whether the Chinese have captured parts of Indian territory.
PM Modi had talked about the issue in his monthly radio address Mann ki Baat where he said that Indian soldiers had given a befitting reply to those who coveted Indian territory.
This would be the prime minister’s sixth address to the nation since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Modi had last addressed the nation on May 12 when he had announced a Rs 20 lakh crore financial package to boost the economy recovering from coronavirus-induced lockdown.
In his March 19 address, the prime minister announced a “janta curfew” on March 22. On March 24, he announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown. On April 14, he extended the lockdown period till May 3. On April 3, in a video message, PM Modi asked the nation to light lamps for frontline corona warriors on April 5.
The lockdown was further extended till May 17 by the Home Ministry.
Now, the country is in the phase one of ‘unlock’ and the month-long phase 2 begins on July 1.
On Monday evening, the government banned 59 Chinese apps under national security considerations.
