Army Doesn't Speak, It Acts, Says PM Modi In Bhopal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today praised the armed forces and said that Army doesn't speak, but it acts as he addressed ex-servicemen in Bhopal.

Here are the highlights of the speech:

On OROP:

• Our soldiers have been asking for something from past governments for decades - OROP
• But they were disciplined, never came to fight.
• And all governments kept making promises in beautiful words and some put a few hundred crores in the budget.
• And today I stand with the satisfaction that we have kept this promise.
• And the amount is so great, the Indian government couldn't be done at once. It was divided in 4 installments.
• So far, 5.5K crore has already been given.
• A havaldar who used to Rs 4K will now get over Rs 7K - that is a 30% addition.
• Sometimes civilian society doesn't remember this.
• A soldier gives his youth in the service of the nation.
• When he comes back, he is left with a question - how do I start my life again?
• For the first time the India government has made the training and skill of our soldiers into a certified skill.
• He can now train the country's youth.
• Our Defence Minister is so proactive, every year 50,000 families receive benefits under special benefits for retired soldiers.
• Disabled soldiers had to get a certificate for their disability and they got their compensation based on that.
• Soldiers were troubled by this system.
• This process has been simplified, divided in 3 slabs.
• Once again I salute the martyrs, their parents, the sisters who have lost their husbands or brothers. And I salute those families.
• There is a custom in many countries in the world, we don't have it yet, but we can do it.
• When soldiers pass through airports or train stations, people get up and applaud them with claps. Can we not do that too? Not just remember forces during times of war?
• It's a small thing, but it can make a great impact on a soldier's life.

On Terrorsim:

• You can hear bomb blasts in every corner of the world today, terrorism is everywhere.
• We sometimes forget our strength and measure only in terms of border security, bombs.
• But we must not forget, never have we attacked any country for their land.
• But when the time came to fight for principles, Indian forces did not step back.
• We did not start WW1 or WWII, it wasn't our fight.
• But we fought for other countries and we need to remind this to world repeatedly.
• A Gandhi is not born here just like that, it is what this land is known for.
• Eternal vigilance is a price of liberty
• Soldiers stay awake while we sleep, guarding us but if we sleep while we are supposed to be awake, forces won't forgive us.
• The confidence of our forces doesn't come from the weapons, it comes from 125 crore Indians standing behind them.
• I have said this before, forces don't speak, they act.
• And they came after me saying Modi doesn't do anything.
• Just like our forces, our Defence Minister doesn't say anything.
• This memorial will be pilgrimage for all of us.
• There must not be a pen of any poet that hasn't remembered our martyrs.

On Armed Forces:

• It is my good fortune to salute the brave soldiers of this land on this important, historic occasion.
• In our country, when we think of the armed forces, then most of the discussion is only of one kind- Uniform, weapons in hands, fire in their eyes.
• Wherever there is a natural disaster, we saw it during the Badrinath Kedarnath disaster how they risked their lives to save the lives of people.
• When there was a huge flood in Srinagar - it was the first of its kind.
• It was even difficult for the govt to deal with it.
• At that time we saw how our soldiers toiled to save those affected by the flood in Srinagar.
• Just see the training, the humanity of my armed forces, they never thought for once that these are the people who throw stones at us, blind us, break our heads, sometimes even kill us.
• But when humanity beckoned, they forgot all of that and fought with their lives to save others.
• Today in the whole world, all the security forces, maybe some other countries may have more armed power.
• But when you count discipline, ethics, behaviour towards citizens, Indian forces are in first line
• There is a peacekeeping force in the world.
• Every Indian must be proud of this. If there is one country that has contributed most to this force, it is India.
• And this is possible because Indian forces function not just with weapons, but also on their virtues, ethics have impressed the world.