'India will give befitting reply that enemy won't forget'

India can give a befitting reply in case of aggression, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said on Friday, mounting a veiled attack on Pakistan.

He said that the country has been practicing restraint despite grave provocations and is capable of giving a befitting reply that the aggressor will not be able to forget.

"Despite grave provocations, you must be seeing in the recent past, we are not doing anything, but if somebody attacks us, we will give a reply to them which they will not be able to forget for the rest of their lives," Naidu said, without naming any country.

He said that this should be understood by everyone including the provocateurs.

His remarks came amid the heightened levels of tensions between India and Pakistan after the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

He made the remarks after after launching a compilation of 95 speeches delivered by President Ram Nath Kovind during his second year in office.

"If you go through the history of India, it was never an aggressor, never attacked any country in spite of being known as 'vishwaguru' (world leader), in spite of having maximum GDP, much before others. India never attacked any other country. Other countries came and attacked us, ruled us, ruined us and cheated us, but we Indians, never attacked any country," Naidu said.

India believes that the entire world is one family and therefore why should it quarrel, he said. The problems could be resolved through discussion, debate and decision and that is the way forward, he said.

The Vice President said India was at a crucial moment in its history where it could take a big leap towards inclusive development by overcoming major challenges and formidable obstacles in its way to achieving inclusive development.IANS