PM Modi at Kargil Vijay Diwas: Won’t succumb to pressure or influence on national security

New Delhi: Underscoring the importance his government attaches to the country’s defence forces, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday said it won’t succumb to pressure or influence in matters of national security.
Speaking at a commemorative function on Kargil Vijay Diwas at the Indira Gandhi Indoor (IGI) stadium in New Delhi, PM Modi said, “The nation’s security has been impregnable and it will remain so. Modernisation of defence forces is our key priority.” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also graced the occasion. In his opening speech, PM Modi said winning the Kargil was a testament of India’s strength, patience, sanctity and discipline. “It was the victory of every Indian’s expectations,” he said.
PM Modi said the Centre had raised the scholarship for martyrs’ children and in the past five years several important decisions were taken for the welfare of soldiers and their families. “Our govt took the decision to implement OROP, which was pending since decades,” the PM said.
Modi recalled his visit to Kargil during the war and said it was like a pilgrimage to him. “I had gone to Kargil 20 years ago when war was at its peak, the enemy was playing its games sitting on high peaks. Death was staring in the face yet our jawans, carrying the tricolour, wanted to reach the valley before anyone. It was like a pilgrimage to me,” he said. Highlighting the challenges facing mankind today, PM Modi said the world was a victim of a pseudo war. “Nature of war has changed. Today humanity and the world is a victim of pseudo war. Terrorism is challenging mankind. Those defeated in war are using pseudo war to fulfill their political objectives and encouraging terrorism,” he said.
On this day in 1999, the Indian Army successfully completed Operation Vijay. The war was fought between India and Pakistan between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LOC).