DEHRADUN: Stating that the morale of the defence forces was high, BJP national president J P Nadda on Saturday said the armed forces now do not need Centre’s permission to retaliate to enemy’s provocations.
Nadda was addressing a meeting of ex-servicemen from the Indian Armed Forces in Dehradun. Nadda is on two-day visit to Uttarakhand to assess the ground situation ahead of the upcoming state Assembly elections. Sources said Nadda will be visit Uttarakhand every month to assess the preparations.
“Today the country is in strong hands and now our soldiers do not need permission of the Centre to retaliate to the provocative firing by our neighbours,” said Nadda, adding that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the country is safe.
“Earlier, the governments used to tell armed forces to wait for orders. But under this government, the armed forces have been given free hand to fire two bullets if the enemy fires one,” added Nadda.
Later, he met elected representatives of rural and urban bodies as part of his preparedness assessment. He instructed them to visit and stay in their respective constituencies and interact with people more often to get a pulse of the ground situation. Nadda said the delivery of welfare schemes must be swift and people should be told of the work done by the government.