War Memorial inaugurated
NEW DELHI, Feb 25:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched an all out attack on the Congress accusing it of adopting a “family first” approach and said national security suffered due to “criminal negligence” of the previous dispensation, in remarks which came shortly before he inaugurated the National War Memorial here.
In his hard-hitting speech at a gathering of ex-servicemen, the Prime Minister referred to the Bofors scam, AgustaWestland chopper scam, Rafale issue and inordinate delays in procurement of critical military platforms and ammunition by previous Government.
Modi also listed steps taken by his Government in enhancing India’s military might, ensuring welfare of security personnel and ex-servicemen as well as in honouring the fallen heroes.
“Why injustice was meted out to our martyrs? What was the reason why attention was not drawn to build a memorial for the martyrs? Was it India first or family first. The answer to this lies in the difference between family first and India first,” Modi said, in a clear reference to the Gandhi family.
He also trained his guns on the Congress on the Bofors and AgustaWestland helicopter scam.
“From Bofors to helicopter, all investigations point at the same family and it says a lot. These people are putting all their might to ensure that Rafale jets do not come to India. When India’s first Rafale will fly over the country, then it will demolish their conspiracies,” said the PM.
Paying his respects to the CRPF soldiers killed in the Pulwama attack, he said due to the sacrifice of many soldiers India is among the strongest Armies in the world.
Speaking on the occasion, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the ex-servicemen, “What we need today is your trust, and trust in the Prime Minister,” seen as seeking their support for BJP’s return to power.
Saying that for him it was India first, Modi asserted that “this pradhan sewak”, a term he uses often for himself, will take every decision keeping the national interest supreme.
“The decisions which were pending compromising national interests were being cleared one by one on priority basis,” he said.
Noting that the proposal for the memorial was mooted almost 25 years back, he said it saw some progress during the previous BJP-led NDA Government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee but got stuck when the Congress-led UPA came to power in 2004.
“In 2014 we started the process of building it and it has been completed before time. Friends, this memorial also signifies how a resolution can be fulfilled,” he said.
He asserted that his Government cleared long-pending crucial defence projects and demands of security forces on a priority basis as he sought to put the Congress in a dock on the issue of national security.
The armed forces had sought 1.83 lakh bullet proof jackets in 2009 but it was only after his Government came to power that over 2.30 lakh of them were bought.
“Who is to blame for this sin and blot” he asked, calling it criminal negligence with armed forces and national security. His Government has also bought 72,000 modern rifles and spent Rs 25,000 crore on purchasing ammunition, he added.
The reason for delay in the previous Government and the decision taken by his dispensation is due to the difference between “family first” and “India first” mindset, he asserted.
Addressing the ex-servicemen, he said the Government will set up three super-specialty hospitals for them.
The Prime Minister said “Modi is not important” and what is paramount are the nation’s history, culture and civilisation.
His Government has implemented one-rank-one-pension (OROP) scheme for ex-servicemen and disbursed Rs 35,000 crore under it, he said, adding that their pension budget is now over Rs 1,12,000 crore and salaries of soldiers are up by 55 per cent.
“A new India is marching forward with new vigour and energy,” said Modi.
Earlier, Modi inaugurated the country’s National War Memorial (NWM) adjoining the iconic India Gate complex in the heart of the capital, nearly 60 years after it was mooted to honour the fallen soldiers after Independence.
Spread over an area of approximately 40 acres, the memorial comprises four concentric circles, namely— the ‘Amar Chakra, the Veerta Chakra, the ‘Tyag Chakra’ and the ‘Rakshak Chakra’ with names of 25,942 soldiers inscribed in golden letters on granite tablets.
It also includes a central obelisk, an eternal flame and six bronze murals depicting famous battles fought by Indian Army, Air Force and Navy in a covered gallery (Veerta Chakra).
The PM dedicated the memorial, built at a cost of Rs 176 crore, by lighting the flame positioned at the bottom of the stone-made obelisk. Rose petals were showered by IAF helicopters and a fly-past in ‘Missing Man’ formation was also part of the event.
There was no national memorial to commemorate the sacrifice of fallen soldiers after independence. The NWM pays tribute to soldiers who laid down their lives defending the nation during India-China war in 1962, Indo-Pak wars in 1947, 1965 and 1971, Indian Peace Keeping Force Operations in Srilanka and in the Kargil conflict of 1999.
The sanction for the project was issued on December 18, 2015 and actual work on it started in February 2018.
In the complex, 16 walls have been constructed in the Tyag Chakra for paying homage to the 25,942 battle casualties and their names have been inscribed on granite tablets arranged in a circular pattern, symbolizing the ancient Indian war formation ‘Chakravyuh’.
The outermost circle — the Rakshak Chakra comprises of rows of more than 600 trees with each tree representing many soldiers who guard the territorial integrity of the nation round the clock.
The memorial complex also comprises graphic panels and stone murals. Busts of the 21 awardees of Param Veer Chakra have been installed at Param Yoddha Sthal which includes three living awardees Sub Maj (Hony Capt) Bana Singh (Retd), Sub Major Yogendra Singh Yadav and Sub Sanjay Kumar.
Officials said the Amar Jawan Jyoti, built in 1972 underneath the India Gate arch in memory of the fallen soldiers of the 1971 war, will remain there but the NWM will be the place to pay tributes to soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country.
Six murals, made by noted sculptor Ram Sutar, depicting famous battles fought by the Army, Air Force and Navy have been put up in a gallery in the Veerta Chakra zone, he added.
The India Gate itself is a war memorial built during the British Raj as the All India War Memorial Arch to honour the soldiers who died in the First World War (1914-1918) and the Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919). The landmark has the names of soldiers inscribed on its surface.
The proposal to set up a a National War Memorial had been under consideration since early 1970s. A Group of Ministers (GoM) in August 2012 recommended “C” Hexagon of India Gate as the appropriate location for the memorial. (PTI)
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