Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Army would never “forgive” the country if it was found “sleeping” when it should be awake, in comments that come against the backdrop of the recent surgical strikes.
He asserted that the Army did not believe in speaking but in displaying its valour.
“Our Army is happiest when we sleep in peace. They have no complaint. But they will never forgive us if we sleep when we should be awake. Unfortunately, we have been found sleeping when we should have been awake.
“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. We have to keep alert always. It will be injustice to the Army if we sleep away when we have to be awake,” he said without elaborating.
Hails spirit of sacrifice Addressing ex-servicemen and their families at the inauguration of the ‘Shaurya Smarak’ (memorial to valour) here, he hailed the role of the armed forces and their spirit of sacrifice in adverse situations.
“Our army does not speak but displays its valour. When I would say this earlier, they (critics) would tear my hair out.
“They would say Modi is sleeping and doing nothing. Like our Army which does not speak but displays its valour, our Defence Minister also does not speak...” he said, with a pause as the audience broke into applause with some raising patriotic slogans.
Mr. Modi said the country had never waged a war to capture another country. “But if it comes to fighting for values and ideals, India is never found wanting,” he said.
Relief work Lauding the valour and humanity of the armed forces, he referred to their relief and rescue operations in Srinagar during the floods two years ago despite the violence they faced from the stone-pelting mobs.
“When massive floods hit Srinagar two years ago, the government found it difficult to deal with the situation. The country saw our jawans rising to the occasion and saving people’s lives.
“They never thought these are the same people who pelt us with stones, breaking heads and damaging eyes. The attack is sometimes so severe that they even face death,” Mr. Modi said, praising the armed forces’ rescue efforts in Kashmir.
He also highlighted their relief work during other natural disasters and recalled their efforts in Uttarakhand, which was hit by massive floods in 2013.
Recently, they rescued over 5,000 Indians and people from other countries, including Pakistan, from war-hit Yemen, he said.
“Even in international peacekeeping operations, Indian forces have served for long,” he said.
On the occasion, he also asserted that his government had fulfilled all the promises it had made while rolling out One Rank, One Pension (OROP) for ex-servicemen, saying over Rs. 5,000 crore had already been distributed to them.
