The PM especially recalled the sacrifices of the brave police personnel who fought valiantly at Hot Springs, Ladakh and paid respects to their family and loved ones
Remembering the sacrifice of countless policemen in the line of duty, a visibly moved Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday dedicated a refurbished National Police Memorial to the nation.
The memorial made of a single granite slab, erected on 6.12 acres of land in Lutyen's Delhi, is built in the memory of 34,844 police personnel who have laid their lives in the line of duty since 1947, including 424 who lost their lives this year.
The PM especially recalled the sacrifices of the brave police personnel who fought valiantly at Hot Springs, Ladakh and paid respects to their family and loved ones.
Invoking the contributions and sacrifices of National Disaster Response Forces (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Forces (SDRF), PM Modi became emotional as he recalled "how without getting any limelight and praise they suffer innumerable hardships day and night and even lay down their lives".
PM Modi said that every object associated with the National Police Memorial would inspire the citizens and educate them about the bravery of police and paramilitary personnel, and added that peace, security and prosperity presently enjoyed by the nation had been possible due to the sacrifices and consistent efforts of police, paramilitary and armed forces.
He also did not shy away from accusing the UPA government for its failure in constructing the memorial. He asked, "Why did it take 70 years after Independence to get the memorial into reality, why did it take so long even after 60 years of the Hot Spring day incident which is celebrated as Police Commemoration Day?"
"A thought to dedicate such a Police memorial to the country's police force came up 25-26 years ago. The memorial also got approval by the then government. Atalji's government took the first step in turning the thought on ground level and the then Home Minister LK Advani laid the foundation stone of the museum in 2002," Modi said.
The Prime Minister announced an award in the name of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, to honour those involved in disaster response operations. The award would be announced on Netaji's birthday on January 23 every year.
"I know that the construction work got affected because of some legal problems but had the earlier government wanted or tried it by heart, the memorial would have been completed several years ago.They allowed settling dust on the stone established by Advaniji," said Modi adding that his government promptly passed the budget for it and the museum which is being dedicated to the nation.
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 "Prime Minister Narendra Modi")
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