Raja Syed Rather
Drass, Jul 26: Prime Minister Narendera Modi Friday said that the Indian forces will never allow resurgence of terrorism in Jammu-Kashmir and crush it with full might. He said forces will give a befitting reply to the enemy’s design of destabilising peace in J&K.
“My voice may be going across the mountains in the ears of mentors of terrorism. Their nefarious designs to destabilise peace here will never succeed. Our forces will crush the terrorism with full might and give a befitting reply to enemy designs,” the Prime Minister said after paying homage to the martyrs of 1999 Kargil war at War Memorial Drass on the occasion of 25th Kargil Vijay Diwas.
PM Modi also carried out the first blast of the Shinkun La Tunnel that will give all-weather connectivity to Ladakh with the rest of the country. “Today, I am in the land of Kargil which has become witness to the supreme sacrifices offered by the bravehearts 25 years ago. Days, months and years pass, weather changes too, but the names of those who offered their lives for this land will remain alive forever,” he said. “Today, the entire nation is highly indebted to the martyrs of Kargil war.”
He said the Indian forces carried out anti-enemy operations on high altitude peaks. “We were trying for peace then but the enemy showed its dual face and finally falsehood got defeated,” he said. “We didn’t win the Kargil war but showed our commitment towards our nation and the valour of our brave forces.”
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan hasn’t learnt any lessons from its past mistakes. “It keeps on promoting terrorism to trigger a proxy war,” he said. “We will never allow the designs of the enemy to succeed.” He said every hurdle that comes in the way of Ladakh or J&K’s development will be removed with full might.
The PM said that five years post Article 370 abrogation, Ladakh, and J&K are prospering. “J&K is talked about for holding a successful G-20 meeting. Cinemas are functional in Kashmir after over three decades. People are chasing new dreams in Kashmir,” he said. About the Shinkhun La Tunnel, the Prime Minister said that once the tunnel is completed, Ladakh will remain connected with the country throughout the year.
“In Ladakh, people are living a peaceful life. In the last five years, Ladakh’s budget has been raised from Rs 1100 Crore to Rs 6000 Crore. This region is chasing new dreams and touching new heights,” he said. “Ladakh will soon have 4 G network and the 13 km Zojila tunnel will also be completed with the result National Highway 1 will become an all-weather route.”
Taking a jibe at Congress for ignoring the demands of forces including the army and Indian Air Force (IAF). “These demands fell on the deaf ears in the past. There was a huge yearning for reforms. Our government took a step to listen to the forces and today we have a list of 5000 weapons that are no longer being exported from outside,” he said.
Lashing out at Congress for playing politics over the Agniveer scheme, Prime Minister Modi said that those opposing and criticising this scheme are the same people who are involved in the thousands of crores of defence budget scams. “These people never wanted the army and IAF to be self-reliant. They never wanted Tejas to be introduced in IAF,” he said.
PM Modi said that the BJP government took a decision to implement a one rank-one pension for the interests of the forces. “As we celebrate Kargil War victory today, it’s not the victory of any government but the victory of entire nation and will remain as nation’s biggest assets,” he said.
