‘It still stings us, there is inevitable pain’
*Modi lauds courage, bravery of jawans
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Oct 28: In what is being seen as very strong message to Pakistan, albeit without naming the neighbour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that there was an “inevitable pain” in the hearts of Indians as Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan continued to be under illegal possession of Pakistan even as he lauded the vigour, bravery and passion of the Army personnel to serve the nation.
The statement comes just couple of days after Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat maintained that PoK is not controlled by Pakistan establishment but by the terrorists.
Click here to watch video
Modi was in Rajouri yesterday on the occasion of Diwali to celebrate the festival with the Army personnel, a tradition which he has been maintaining for the last six years after taking over as the Prime Minister. However, this was Modi’s first visit to any part of Jammu and Kashmir since August 5 when the Central Government had scrapped special Constitutional provisions of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the State into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
Addressing the Army personnel in Rajouri, Modi said there is an “inevitable pain” in the hearts of Indians as PoK and Gilgit Baltistan remained under the possession of Pakistan.
Making a veiled attack on Pakistan and praising the troops for having “foiled a conspiracy to take over Jammu and Kashmir”, the Prime Minister also said “it still stings” to talk about the illegal occupation of certain parts of Kashmir.
“Our country was partitioned… lakhs died and became refugees. But we (have) no ill-will against them (Pakistan). But they hatched a conspiracy to take over Jammu and Kashmir. Our brave soldiers foiled their plans and today we are proud to have it as part of India,” Modi said, adding “They managed to capture some part of it, they have occupied it illegally – it still stings us”.
“During the time of partition, when many innocent people lost their lives, our country suffered a massive loss. However, the feeling during that time was that both countries should take care of their own businesses after whatever loss had occurred. But they (Pakistan) did not desist from their antics and started planning ways to annex Jammu and Kashmir. But it was our Indian Army and Jawans that quashed all their dreams and wishes. Today I can proudly say that Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India,” the Prime Minister said.
However, he said, some parts of Jammu and Kashmir did slip into their hands and they are illegally controlling it and there is inevitable pain in our hearts because of that.
In a reference seen by many to hint at his Government’s move on Article 370, Modi also said the soldiers’ courage had enabled the Centre to take certain decisions.
“The valour of the Indian defence forces made it possible for the Central Government to take decisions which were hitherto considered impossible,” he said.
Dressed in a combat jacket, Modi exchanged wishes and sweets with soldiers deployed along the Line of Control (LoC) and spent nearly two hours at the Army base.
He said that he, like many others, had travelled to be with his family – “brave jawans of the armed forces” – for Diwali.
After his visit, the Prime Minister posted a series of tweets that said interacting with the soldiers had given him “great joy”.
“Celebrated #Diwali with the brave soldiers of the Indian Army in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir. It is always a matter of great joy to be able to interact with these courageous personnel,” said one of the tweets.
In a video posted on his official account, the Prime Minister can be seen exchanging jokes with a group of soldiers while feeding them sweets from a box.
“We never thought of the Prime Minister visiting us and making our Diwali a memorable one… It was a big surprise and we are feeling proud after meeting him,” one of the soldiers who met Modi was quoted by a news agency as saying.
During his address, Modi also thanked the never-ending vigour, bravery and passion of the Army personnel to serve the nation.
Apart from this, Modi also spoke about the role of the Indian Army during the partition of the country.
Third Diwali visit to J&K
This was for the third time that Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Jammu and Kashmir to celebrate Diwali with the troops in the border State since 2014.
Modi started the practice of interacting with troops serving in tough areas on Diwali soon after taking over as the Prime Minister in 2014 when he had spent his Diwali at Siachen Glacier in Ladakh region of J&K, the highest battlefield in the world located at the height of over 18,800 feet from sea level, with the Army jawans, besides visiting the flood victims in Srinagar.
He visited Gurez sector of Bandipora district in North Kashmir in 2017 and spent his Diwali with soldiers deployed there.
In 2015, he visited the Punjab border on Diwali. His visit had coincided with 50 years of 1965 Indo-Pak War.
The next year, Modi was in Himachal Pradesh, where he spent time with Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel at an outpost.
In 2018, he celebrated the festival with Army and the ITBP personnel in the icy terrain near the India-China border in Uttarakhand.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister celebrated Diwali with the troops in the border district of Rajouri in Jammu region.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
