Modi plans border visits

India's next Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning to visit the country’s borders with Pakistan and China – but not the border with Bangladesh or Myanmar. Officials in the Home and Defence ministries have already been informed of Modi’s plans. ‘We are working it out – the possible locations and time,’ said a top official but on condition of strict anonymity. BJP sources said a strong internal security regime is one of Modi’s poll-time pledges and strengthening border management is an integral part of it. ‘The planned visit will boost the morale of our forces and also send a signal that India will be tough in dealing with violations of Line of Actual Control,’ said a senior BJP leader close to Modi. By restricting his visit to the border with Pakistan and China, Modi is also giving enough indication of his priorities. ‘There has been a growing spate of LAC violations by Pakistan army which actively pushes in terrorists through the border in Kashmir. Modi has been critical of the weak response of the previous government and his visit will be to impress on field commanders that they need not fear being tough,’ the BJP leader said. Both army and BSF commanders have been previously hamstrung by instructions from the top to avoid any kind of escalation. ‘We don’t want to start a war but we want to impress on the Pakistan military that their aggression will come at a high cost. The higher headquarters can always control an escalation but unless the field units hit back, the enemy will always be encouraged to create mischief.’ On the border with China, Modi will try to familiarise himself with the terrain and how effective the new Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) with China has been in checking LAC violations, according to bdnews24.com.