At the Tawang War Memorial in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid respects to the soldiers who died while doing their duties and expressed gratitude to them for taking on the task of securing the borders.
Following his attendance at the wreath-laying ceremony, Rajnath Singh, who landed in Tezpur on Monday and would be visiting Assam and Arunachal Pradesh for two days, interacted with the media.
“The tough situation in which you are shouldering the responsibility of guarding the country’s borders – we can’t appreciate it enough. I would like to tell you that the countrymen are proud of you. All of you know the importance of your uniform” the Defence Minister told the troops.
“You have kept the borders secure and that is why India’s stature before the world is rising rapidly. All the developed countries accept the reality that in the past 8-9 years, India’s stature has risen. I would like to clearly say that under the leadership of PM Modi, if India’s stature has risen, India has made economic developments, it indeed is important but had you not kept the country’s border secure – this stature would not have been possible” the Defence Minister added.
Rajnath Singh spent the day interacting with the security forces stationed in the strategically significant Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh.
In addition, he conducted special prayers, carried out Shashtra Puja in Tawang, and would be celebrating Vijayadashami among soldiers.
The Defence Minister is being escorted by Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande during his visit.
The Union Minister went to the Tawang area earlier this year to assess the area’s security readiness.