Hamirpur, March 13 (Agency) Calling the Indian Army as the best in the world, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi used to treat the Army as his family. Taking part in a Samman Samaroh (felicitation ceremony) organised by the Sujanpur Mandal of BJP at Chaukki village near Hamirpur town, he said Modi Ji has taken decisions in respect of serving soldiers and ex-servicemen, without any hitch. “Modi Ji is the only Prime Minister, who celebrates Deepawali with soldiers every year by going to the borders,” he added. Thakur said that as soon as he took over the reins of the country, the Prime Minister released Rs 55,000 crore to the soldiers’ fund. The ‘One Rank One Pension’ scheme, which was lying pending for decades as a gift.
Thakur said that Modi has taken many historic decisions to strengthen the country and its forces. Along with providing modern weapons to the army, Modi has given special emphasis on the manufacture of weapons in the country under the self-reliant India campaign. So far, 22 factories have been opened in the country. A bulletproof jacket factory is also going to be set up in Himachal Pradesh. This initiative of the Prime Minister will not only increase India’s military strength, but also make India financially strong. The Union Minister said that BJP governments have always given highest respect to soldiers. During the Kargil war, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government started the tradition of transporting the mortal remains of all the martyred soldiers to their homes for the first time.
Earlier, the families of the martyrs could not even have the last glimpse of these brave sons. Referring to the contribution of Himachal in the Army, Thakur said that the population of this small hill state is only half per cent of the total population of the country, but the contribution of HP in the Indian Army is 4 per cent. The warriors of Himachal have received more than 1,100 gallantry awards in various wars and military operations. This is the reason why Himachal is known as Virbhoomi, he added. He gave a clarion call to the people present in the rally to have faith in BJP and help the party in the coming Vidhan Sabha elections that would be held later this year. “BJP is the only party working for the well-being and welfare of people. Such party should be given help to achieve its Mission repeat-2022 by forming government in the state once again, said Thakur.
On this occasion, former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal also saluted the martyrs, ex-servicemen, serving soldiers and their families. He said the country can never forget their contribution. He shared many emotional experiences related to the martyrdom of many soldiers of Himachal Pradesh who were martyred in the Kargil War. During the ceremony, ex-servicemen and their families were honoured and two minutes of silence was observed to pay homage to the martyred soldiers. On this occasion, state BJP Ex-Servicemen Cell Convener and Zilla Parishad Member, Captain Ranjit Singh; BJP Mandal President Virendra Singh Thakur and ex-Servicemen Cell Convenor Captain Suresh Kumar were present on the occasion.