Prime Minister professes 'pride' as he dedicates India's largest aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya
Amid heavy rainfall and lashing winds on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the Indian Navy's costliest and most potent acquisition, aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, to the service of the nation.
By choosing to come on-board the INS Vikramaditya in his first trip outside Delhi after taking the oath of office, Modi sent a message to sailors present on the ship and the world that was watching that military matters would be given top priority by his government.
The first thing the PM did after alighting from a Sea King helicopter was to get into the cockpit of a MiG-29K fighter aircraft specially customised by the Russians for operations on the INS Vikramaditya.
By choosing to come on-board the INS Vikramaditya in his first trip outside Delhi after taking the oath of office, Narendra Modi sent a message to sailors present on the ship and the world that was watching that military matters would be given top priority by his government. Modi inspects the Guard of Honour at INS Hansa airbase at Dabolim in Goa
Flanked by a young pilot and Navy Chief Admiral Robin Dhowan, a beaming Modi signalled he would be steering India's military policy into bold new waters.
'Moment of pride'
Addressing the sailors, the PM declared, "For me, it is a matter of pride and happiness that INS Vikramaditya is joining the Navy. It is a historic step. We need to give immense importance to latest technology. This will help the nation. Why should we import defence equipment? We must be self-sufficient. Why can't we send our defence equipment to other nations?"
For officers and sailors used to the armed forces being neglected by the previous UPA government, PM Modi was a refreshing change.
Not only did he present a crisp salute during the Steam Past presented by the 11 ships of the Western Fleet of the Navy, he also reached out to the sailors and promised to make maritime security a national priority.
Modi said, "Hum kisiko naa aankh dikhaayenge, naa aankh jhukaayenge, duniya se aankh milaa ke baat karenge (We will not try to intimidate other nations, neither will we bow before others, from now we will look every country straight in the eye and talk)."
The PM linked economic progress to maritime security and cited the example of Maratha King Chattrapati Shivaji, who is credited with having conceptualised the first Indian naval doctrine to make the point that a country could prosper only if its maritime interests were secure.
Criticism
Taking a pot shot at the UPA government, he said, "The decisions taken by this government have been the strong desire of our veterans and I don't know why these important task was not accomplished by our predecessors."
Captain Suraj Berry who is the first Commanding Officer of the INS Vikramaditya told Mail Today, "It is a moment of great pride for the Navy that the new PM has come on-board the Vikramaditya so soon into his tenure. It shows the seriousness which he attaches to military affairs and this bodes well for India."
Goa CM Manohar Parrikar, MoS Defence Rao Inderjit Singh, Tourism Minister and North Goa MP Sripad Rao Naik and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval accompanied Modi for the PM's Day-at-Sea.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the deck of aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya in Goa on Saturday. The original cost estimate of the aircraft carrier was Rs 4,881.67 crore, or $947 million. It will now cost $2.3 billion
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