Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that Pakistan has not learnt lessons from its previous drubbings and wants to remain relevant through terror and proxy war.
Addressing a gathering on the occasion of 25th Kargil Vijay Diwas in Ladakh, PM Narendra Modi said, “Pakistan has failed in all its nefarious attempts in the past. But Pakistan has not learned anything from its history. It is trying to keep itself relevant with the help of terrorism and proxy war.”
“Today I am speaking from a place where the masters of terror can hear my voice directly, I want to tell these patrons of terrorism that their nefarious intentions will never succeed. Our soldiers will crush terrorism with full force and the enemy will be given a befitting reply...,” Modi warned.
The PM stressed that India not only won the Kargil but “presented an incredible example of ‘truth, restraint and strength.” He nailed Pakistan’s deceit at the time when India was making all efforts to maintain peace. “Falsehood and terror were brought down to their knees by truth,” he added.
He recalled that he was amidst soldiers at the time of the Kargil War in 1999 and still remembers how the soldiers carried out difficult operations at such heights. “I salute the brave sons of the country who made the supreme sacrifice to protect the motherland,” Shri Modi said.
“In Kargil, we not only won the war, but we presented an incredible example of ‘truth, restraint and strength”, Prime Minister Modi remarked. The Prime Minister threw light on Pakistan’s deceit at a time when India was making all efforts to maintain peace. “Falsehood and terror were brought down to their knees by truth,” he added.
The Prime Minister also remarked that sacrifices made to protect the nation’s borders are immortal and cannot be forgotten even though months, years, decades and centuries pass by. “The nation is forever indebted and deeply grateful to the mighty superheroes of our armed forces,” PM Modi added.
Shinkun La tunnel project
After paying homage to the bravehearts who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, the PM witnessed the first blast of the Shinkun La Tunnel Project in Ladakh, virtually.
The 4.1 km long twin-tube tunnel will be constructed at around 15,800 feet on the Nimu-Padum-Darcha road to provide all-weather connectivity to Leh which would help in swift mobilisation of the armed forces.
He said through Shinkun La Tunnel, the union territory will remain connected with the whole country throughout the year, in every season. “This tunnel will open doors of new possibilities for the development and better future of Ladakh.”
He assured that the country will overcome all challenges that come in the way of development, be it Ladakh or Jammu & Kashmir. He reminded that in a few days from now on August 5, the abrogation of Article 370 will complete 5 years and the Jammu & Kashmir of today is talking about a new future full of dreams.
The PM gave examples of progress and mentioned holding G20 meetings in the UT, government’s focus on infrastructure development and tourism, cinema halls opening up and tazia procession being initiated after three and a half decades.
PM Jibe against Opposition on Agniveer
Modi also took a jibe at the opposition for politicising the Agnipath scheme of recruitment in armed forces, and said the new route of entry into the constabulary was to address the long pending concern that the average age of recruits here was above the global average of the jawan. In the past, the governments’ did not have the willpower to deal with this critical concern which now has been attempted though the Agnipath scheme.
“Purpose of Agnipath is to keep forces young and continuously battle-ready,” the PM asserted, lamenting the blatant politicisation of this sensitive subject. He talked about the past scams and unwillingness to modernise the Air Force fleet..
Announcements have been made to give priority to Agniveers in the private sector and paramilitary forces as well, he said.
Rejecting the propaganda Agnipath scheme was introduced to save the pension burden, Modi reminded that the pension burden of the soldiers being recruited today will come up after 30 years. Therefore, this can not be the reason behind the scheme, he clarified. “We respect this decision taken by the armed forces because for us the security of the country is more important than politics,” he added.
The Prime Minister pointed out that those misleading the youth of the nation today had no regard for the armed forces in the past. Recalling the false promises made by past governments on One Rank One Pension, the Prime Minister underlined that it was the present government that implemented the scheme where ex-servicemen were given more than ₹1.25 lakh crores.
He further pointed out the neglect of past governments and said, “These are the same people who did not build a war memorial for the martyrs even after seven decades of independence, did not provide enough bulletproof jackets to our soldiers deployed on the border and kept ignoring Kargil Vijay Diwas.”