Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a war memorial, which took more than six years to build, in Bhopal on Friday amid a war of words between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre and the opposition over the Indian Army’s surgical strike.
Modi will land in Bhopal at about 4 pm and will head to Lal Parade ground to address an ex-servicemen’s gathering called ‘Shaurya Samman Sabha’. He will then inaugurate the Shourya Smarak, built by the state government, in the evening.
“It is a matter of pride for Madhya Pradesh people that the Shaurya Smarak came up with the state government’s efforts and the PM is going to inaugurate it. This will give a boost to the morale of not only the armed forces but also the citizens of the country,” state BJP vice-president Vijesh Lunawat said.
The war memorial, built over 12 acres on Arera Hills at a cost of approximately Rs 41 crore, has a 62-foot Shaurya Stambh, an amphitheatre with a capacity to seat 1,000 people and galleries to showcase the armed forces’ history and wars the country has fought.
The foundation stone of the war memorial was laid on February 24, 2010, by the then army chief General Deepak Kapoor.
“Inauguration of the war memorial by the Prime Minister and his address to the ex-servicemen will boost the morale of army men. The state government has put in great efforts to acknowledge and underline the role and image of the armed forces,” wing commander (retd) Arun Puri told HT.
PM Modi’s Bhopal visit comes three days after his Dussehra speech in Lucknow where he said that “sometimes war becomes unavoidable” but said those who support and provide sanctuary to terrorists can’t be spared.
The PM, however, did not name Pakistan in his speech, the first since India’s military retribution against the neighbour New Delhi blames for the terror attack on an army base in Uri that left 19 soldiers dead.
Modi will land in Bhopal at about 4 pm and will head to Lal Parade ground to address an ex-servicemen’s gathering called ‘Shaurya Samman Sabha’. He will then inaugurate the Shourya Smarak, built by the state government, in the evening.
“It is a matter of pride for Madhya Pradesh people that the Shaurya Smarak came up with the state government’s efforts and the PM is going to inaugurate it. This will give a boost to the morale of not only the armed forces but also the citizens of the country,” state BJP vice-president Vijesh Lunawat said.
The war memorial, built over 12 acres on Arera Hills at a cost of approximately Rs 41 crore, has a 62-foot Shaurya Stambh, an amphitheatre with a capacity to seat 1,000 people and galleries to showcase the armed forces’ history and wars the country has fought.
The foundation stone of the war memorial was laid on February 24, 2010, by the then army chief General Deepak Kapoor.
“Inauguration of the war memorial by the Prime Minister and his address to the ex-servicemen will boost the morale of army men. The state government has put in great efforts to acknowledge and underline the role and image of the armed forces,” wing commander (retd) Arun Puri told HT.
PM Modi’s Bhopal visit comes three days after his Dussehra speech in Lucknow where he said that “sometimes war becomes unavoidable” but said those who support and provide sanctuary to terrorists can’t be spared.
The PM, however, did not name Pakistan in his speech, the first since India’s military retribution against the neighbour New Delhi blames for the terror attack on an army base in Uri that left 19 soldiers dead.