Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan on Thursday (September 4) offered prayers at the Gorakhnath Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur. During his visit to the temple, CDS General Chauhan was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and head priest Yogi Kamalnath.
CDS General Chauhan was presented with an 'angavastra' and an idol of Gorakhnath as a memento by head priest Yogi Kamalnath.
General Chauhan's key role in Operation Sindoor
CDS General Chauhan had played a key role during Operation Sindoor, which India conducted in May following the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives, mostly tourists. During the recent India-Pakistan military conflict, General Chauhan was instrumental in ensuring synergy between the three services.
'India need to be prepared to respond to any violence by Pakistan'
Despite the Indian military's success against Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, General Chauhan believes that New Delhi will have to be prepared to respond to "any acts of violence" by Islamabad, both by state and non-state actors. He made the remarks while addressing the inaugural edition of the Annual Trident Lecture Series in New Delhi in August.
"We need to create more space for conventional operations, between the unconventional and nuclear domains. And, we need to challenge the Pakistani doctrine of full-spectrum deterrence, which talks about deterrence at the lowest level to the highest," he had said.
However, the CDS had asserted that terrorists cannot hide anywhere in the territory of Pakistan, emphasising that the Indian military should have the capabilities to hit both fixed and mobile targets at extreme ranges. "We have to be prepared to respond to any acts of violence by Pakistan, both state and non-state (actors), and that's the first norm, we must understand this. That's the new norm for all of us," he had said.