Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with officials in Arunachal Pradesh's Siang district.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had some brotherly love for the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) as he inaugurated some strategically important connectivity projects in the border state of Arunachal Pradesh.
"When I earlier used to see the short form 'BRO' on signboards, in my childhood, I used to think it's 'bro', which our younger generation uses for 'brother'," he said, speaking in Hindi, at the event in Siang district.
"After seeing their work now," he added, "I believe they are indeed brothers of our armed forces and the people. I can say that I was not wrong to read BRO as 'bro'."
In his visit that comes a month after Indian and Chinese troops clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal, Rajnath Singh inaugurated Siyom Bridge near Boleng in Siang district and also virtually inaugurated 27 projects of the BRO.
He did not visit any forward areas but the 100-metre bridge over river the Siyom is a key link for the military as it can help move troops to the border more quickly.
Siyom Bridge near Boleng in Arunachal inaugurated on January 3.
In a statement in Parliament, the minister had said that the Indian Army bravely stopped the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops from encroaching on Indian territory, and forced them to withdraw to their posts.
This was the latest among multiple such incidents over the past few years, prompting questions over PM Narendra Modi's foreign policy by Opposition parties led by the Congress.