NEW DELHI: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah led the nation in applauding the CRPF personnel for being at the forefront of keeping the nation safe, on the 82nd Raising Day of the paramilitary force on Monday.
Describing CRPF as "peacekeepers of the nation", Naidu said it is synonymous with dedication and commitment towards duty and national security.PM Modi also extended greetings to the personnel of the "outstanding force" on the occasion. "The courage and professionalism of this force are widely admired. May the CRPF achieve even greater heights in the coming years," he tweeted.
Shah also praised the CRPF on the occasion through a tweet. "CRPF is synonymous with valour, courage and sacrifice. Time and again CRPF has made the nation proud. Their dedication to serve the society during COVID-19 is unparalleled. I join millions of Indians to wish our brave CRPF personnel and their families on 82nd Raising Day," he said.
MoS Home Nityanand Rai, who officiated as the chief guest of the Raising Day celebrations, recalled the valour and sacrifice of the CRPF personnel during an attack by heavily armed Chinese troops in 1959 in Hot Springs in Ladakh, one of the friction points in the current Sino-India standoff. He said 10 CRPF personnel sacrificed their lives in Hot Springs, and the Chinese army had to suffer "big damage".
"What a coincidence. Whenever China attacks, its strength is huge and ours is less... but China has always suffered the consequences," he said. Similarly, the CRPF defended the Sardar Post in Gujarat when a small team repulsed an attack by a 3,000-strong army contingent of Pakistan in 1965, Rai said.
The minister praised the force for ensuring the security of the country as he said without security there can be no peace, no development and no unity.
Rai also recalled the 2019 Pulwama attack on a CRPF convoy in which 40 personnel were killed and the subsequent declaration by the PM that their sacrifice will not go in vain. "We went into Pakistan and killed the terrorists and Pakistan just kept watching. India did what it wanted to do," he said in a reference to IAF’s air strikes in Balakot.
Terrorism, Naxalism being wiped out: Nityanand Rai
MoS Home Nityanand Rai said that under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, terrorism and Naxalism were being wiped out in the country. He said that in six months, 150 terrorists have been killed and terrorist outfits like LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen have been eliminated from Kashmir.
Rai said that terrorists should know they will have to change their ideology or they will be wiped out.