PM Modi, wearing a mask as a precaution against coronaviruses, recognized the soldiers with folded hands.
New Delhi:
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at an outpost in Ladakh to speak to the troops, the songs of “Bharat Mata ki jai” and “Vande Mataram” sounded. Video shows soldiers applauding as Prime Minister walks among them during a surprise visit to Ladakh a few days after the June 15 clash with China in which 20 soldiers were killed in action.
Prime Minister Modi, accompanied by the Chief of the Defense Staff, General Bipin Rawat, and the Chief of the Army MM Naravane, arrived early in Leh and was transported by helicopter to Nimu, 30,000 meters from altitude in the Himalayas and on the banks of the Indus.
As the soldiers burst into patriotic slogans, the Prime Minister, wearing a mask as a precaution against the coronaviruses, recognized them with folded hands.
#WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi among the soldiers after addressing them in Nimmoo, Ladakh. pic.twitter.com/YMqNs7DIEX
– ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2020
“Interact with our brave members of the armed forces in Nimu,” the prime minister posted, sharing a photo on his Instagram account.
Sitting in a camouflage tent, Prime Minister Modi addressed soldiers of the army, the air force and the police of the Indo-Tibetan borders with the mountains of Zanskar in the spectacular backdrop.
He was informed by senior officers of the nine-week confrontation with China at the actual line of control, or LAC, the de facto border between the two countries.
PM Modi also visited a hospital where soldiers injured in the fight with Chinese troops in the Galwan River Valley are recovering.
In addition to being a huge morale booster for the troops, the Prime Minister’s visit is seen as a direct message to China, which has aggressively confronted Indian soldiers in parts of Ladakh.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh was scheduled to travel to Leh yesterday, but his trip has been canceled.
