Commenting on the row that has erupted over Coast Guard DIG’s comments over the Pakistan boat incident on December 31, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday said that the ministry stands by its statement. “Defence Ministry sticks to what it said, if any channel said anything we will inquire into it. Defence Ministry stands by what it had stated earlier. There is no change in the situation,†he said. According to Defence Ministry officials, the boat was intercepted by the Coast Guards in the Arabian Sea but the four occupants on board set the vessel afire and exploded it before it sank with them. He also said that there are 15 to 16 lakh servicemen in India and if someone makes an incorrect statement, the government is not responsible. Deputy Inspector General of the Coast Guard had claimed that the suspected terrorists onboard the Pakistan terror boat off the Porbandar coast in Gujarat did not blow themselves up, according to a report published in an English daily. The report suggests that DIG BK Loshali had ordered that the boat be blown up, saying “Blow the boat off…We don’t want to serve them biryani.†However, he rubbished the report, saying he was misquoted. “I have been misquoted. The boat actually set itself on fire and sunk. I mentioned that no international element will be allowed to breach our coastal security and we are not going to serve them biryani,†he said.
