Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Udhampur-Kathua constituency, Friday said people living in the border villages are India's first line of defence.
Singh will take on the grandson of erstwhile Maharaja Hari Singh, Vikramaditya Singh, and former BJP minister Choudhary Lal Singh in the Udhampur-Kathua parliamentary constituency, where polling will be held on April 18.
Singh, who is the sitting MP here, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ensured decisive retaliatory action against Pakistan, which the people living along the border would testify to.
Addressing a series of public meetings in the border villages close to International Border (IB) in Kathua and Hiranagar sectors, Singh said, "None other than the people living in the border areas are India's first line of defence against the enemy for 24 hours, 365 days a year."