Rajnath Pays Tribute To Odisha Martyrs Of Pulwama Attack

Bhadrakh: With the dastardly killing of the 42 CRPF jawans triggering a nation-wide outrage and condemnation, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said the armed forces have been given a free hand to deal with the perpetrators of the crime.

Singh, who had visited Pulwama a day after the attack and had turned pall-bearer for the martyred jawans, said the sacrifice of the jawans will not go in vain. He also reminded of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion that the security forces have been given the freedom to decide how and when to avenge the killing of the brave soldiers.

“Yeh balidaan vyarth nahi jayega, nahi jayega, nahi jayega,” he said while paying rich tributes to Prasanna Sahu and Manoj Kumar Behera, the two CRPF jawans from the state who were among the 42 martyred in the Pulwama attack.

A minute-long silence was observed before he began to address the party workers at a rally in Ranital.

He said the all party meeting convened by him after the attack, has unanimously condemned the attack and had deplored Pakistan.

The CRPF jawans and the Jammu and Kashmir police had done a commendable job in tackling terrorism in the Kashmir valley. The ultras had become desperate. They were frustrated and wanted to to assert themselves. The Pulwama attack was the outcome of their desperation, the Minister said.

Defence force are the jewel of this nation and much of the credit for India’s growing stature internationally is owed to them, he added.

Turning his attention to the ensuing elections, the Home Minister appealed the party workers to reach out to the voters with the good work done by the Narendra Modi government.

He accused the Odisha government of failing to develop the state as a result of which the State has lagged behind the other BJP ruled states.

“There is no doubt that Odisha has seen a stable government but I fail to understand why no development has taken place during these years,” he said. The GDP growth of BJP ruled states, he said, has gone beyond 10-13 per cent.

Exuding confidence of BJP returning back to power under the leadership of Modi, Singh said under the PM’s leadership, the country has made rapid strides and is today counted among the top 10 nations globally. “By 2030 it will surpass the US, Russia and China and the booth level workers should carry this message of development to the masses”.

Criticising the Congress and the late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi who had once mocked at BJP for having only two members in Lok Sabha, Singh said it was the efforts of leaders such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani that made BJP the principle party in the country. BJP ended the Congress domination on power and brought in bi-polar politics into the Indian political system.

If Vajpayee and Advani, had led the foundation of BJP’s growth, PM Modi consolidated the growth momentum and gave it absolute majority in 2014 elections, he said.

Tearing into Congress president Rahul Gandhi for levelling allegations against the PM over the Rafale deal and ‘desh the chowkidaar chor hain’ barb, Rajnath said Congress has demeaned the sanctity of the PM’s office with such allegations.

“During the past 30 years you did nothing to purchase the next generation aircraft vital for national security. But when PM is doing it, you are accusing him of corruption. Why should the PM indulge in corruption and for whom,” he said.

“Desh ka chowkidaar pure hain, dobara PM banna sure hain, desh ki samadhan the cure hain”, he said.