Manipur joined the rest of the country in paying tribute to the martyrs, who laid down their lives for the nation during the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971, on Vijay Diwas observed Saturday.
The state-level observance was held at the Banquet Hall of 1st Battalion Manipur Rifles with State Chief Minister, N Biren Singh and deputy Chief Minister, Y Joykumar Singh as the chief guest and functional president respectively.
Addressing the function, the Chief Minister said that the observance would be meaningful only when every citizen of the country put in collective effort to protect the country.
“We all need to take a pledge to be ever ready to sacrifice our lives for the integrity of the nation”, Singh said.
He further said that the present generation should honour the spirit, courage and politics of the then government for taking cudgels for East Pakistan to liberate it as Bangladesh despite the fact that Indian Army was not strong and well equipped at that time.
The Chief Minister asserted that external threats of the country or state can be wiped off if the country is united. On the other hand, shunning provocation and ensuring equal rights to the people are also equally important in maintaining unity, he added.
Alleging that there was no proper administration and governance in the State during the tenure of the previous government, the Chief Minister said that the present government is putting all efforts to put things in place. He further urged the bureaucrats, heads of departments and all the subordinate employees to extend co-operation in making the present government a clean, transparent and efficient one.
Regarding government assistance, Singh also stated the gathering that the Central Government had sanctioned Rs 130 crore as flood relief assistance to the state. Another Rs 1200 crore had been approved by the Centre under PMGSY apart from taking a decision to continue the Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) funding pattern of 90:10 till March, 2020, he added.
Addressing the gathering, Y Joykumar spoke on the connection of Indo-Pak War, 1971 with the Nation’s current security scenario. Concerted threats to the country from different sides were neutralized up to a large extent due to the victory of the war, he opined.
The function was attended by ministers, MLAs, administrative secretaries, heads of departments and top civil and police officials.