Arunachal Pradesh: Defence minister Rajnath Singh visits forward areas along LAC, reviews army preparedness

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control with China in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector. Rajnath Singh carried out first-hand on-ground assessment of the operational preparedness of the Armed Forces in the forward areas and interacted with the troops deployed in the strategic locations.

During his visit to Bum La, the Defence Minister accompanied by Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande went close to the ‘Incredible India’ gate on the Indian side and Chinese Border Personnel Meet facility (blue-roofed huts) on the Chinese side.

Rajnath Singh paid his tributes to the bravehearts at the Tawang War Memorial who have been martyred on the line of duty and appreciated the soldiers for shouldering the responsibility of guarding the borders. He also performed Shashtra Puja at Tawang, held special prayers and celebrated Vijayadashami with the soldiers.

“The tough situation in which you are shouldering the responsibility of guarding the country’s borders – we can’t appreciate it enough. I would like to tell you that the countrymen are proud of you. All of you know the importance of your uniform” Rajnath Singh in his message to the soldiers said.

“You have kept the borders secure and that is why India’s stature before the world is rising rapidly. All the developed countries accept the reality that in the past 8-9 years, India’s stature has risen. I would like to clearly say that under the leadership of PM Modi, if India’s stature has risen, India has made economic developments, it indeed is important but had you not kept the country’s border secure – this stature would not have been possible” Singh said.

Praising the role of the forces who are protecting the nation by overcoming all challenges, Rajnath Singh said, “There is a sense of self respect within you which instills a passion within you, that we must keep our borders safe no matter even we have to sacrifice our lives. Because of this self-respect India could get freedom.”

In his address to the soldiers, Rajnath Singh also highlighted on the fact that the nation can now depend on its potential in terms of the defence sector. Regarding this Singh said, “Earlier, we used to rely on imports to upgrade our military. But today, a number of major weapons and platforms are being manufactured within the country. Foreign companies are being encouraged to share their technology and produce the equipment in India with domestic industry. In 2014, the value of defence exports was about Rs 1,000 crore, but today we are exporting defence equipment worth thousands of crores.”