Azad's comments, which were expunged , caused an uproar in Rajya Sabha.
Union Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh said that making any statement which demeans the sacrifice of the armed forces of the country was a cardinal sin which cannot be repented.
"Any direct or indirect comment or statement that demeans the sacrifice of our soldiers or insults their services is a sin, a cardinal sin which cannot be repented," he said, reacting to Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad's remarks which were expunged.
Singh, who was in Kathua, said it was because of these brave soldiers that the people in the country were in a position to begin their day as per their wishes. On the increase in the incidents of ceasefire violations from the Pakistani side in which several people have lost their lives, Singh said it was for the first time in past several years that Pakistan was getting a befitting reply.
"People living in border areas agree that the retaliatory action which is happening this time has never been seen before and that is why the morale of the people is high," he said.
He said the morale of the army and paramilitary forces was high which has boosted the morale of the entire country.
Earlier addressing a public meeting, Singh said the demonetisation move will enrich rural economy of India and actually benefit those sections of society who were being held to ransom as a result of black money hoarding by a few.
"The opposition leaders, who are uncomfortable with this decision, are regularly putting out different arguments to challenge it and one of the arguments put across is, how will it help the large population of India living in rural and semi-rural areas or the large number of common citizens queueing up for exchange of currency notes.
"The answer to this is very simple. When a handful of people hoarding unaccounted money are made to surrender it to the banks, this will ultimately end up in reinforcing the country's legitimate exchequer and increase the quantum of money in the banks," he said.
"As a result, this would enable the state exchequer to carry forward the Modi government's pro-poor schemes in a more effective manner by providing higher financial resources, possible reduction in interest rates for loans to the poor, needy and youth entrepreneurs, and raising the overall capacity of fair economic transaction," he said.
Singh said the entire exercise was carried out keeping in mind the interest of the poorest of the poor and, therefore, ultimately those who had to undergo initial inconvenience during this transition would be the actual beneficiaries.
The demonetisation drive has evidently proved that if the leadership of the country is honest and well-meaning, the poorest of the poor living even in villages are ready to cope with initial inconvenience in return for larger profits and gains for themselves and their next generation, he said. PTI TSS AB
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 "Jitendra Singh")
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