Modi likens Army’s surgical strike to that of Israel

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday again took the opportunity to refer to the surgical strike in Pakistan and said India’s army, “which everyone is talking about”, is now as good as the vaunted Israeli army. 

“Everyone is talking about our Army, we used to hear about similar feats of Israel. But now everyone knows the Indian Army is no less,” the PM said, addressing a rally in Mandi , in the Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh, a state that goes to the polls next year, and one that a lot of the armed forces hail from. 

While talking about the Army, the PM also took the opportunity to pat himself on the back for pushing through the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for retired servicemen, whose families, he said, now “bless” him for it. 

“One Rank One Pension was hanging for 40 years, and it is our government which completed that work. Not only soldiers but their families bless me. We have released Rs 5,500 crore and promise to deliver the remainder soon,” the PM said, in what was his first trip to Himachal since he won the Lok 

Sabha elections. 

The PM recalled that he spoke of OROP in Himachal while campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections. “Today in this ‘veerbhumi’ (brave land), I can say that this right of yours has been given,” he said.