By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that to honour our war heroes a War Memorial would be set up in Madhya Pradesh which gave an account of the exploits of our soldiers on the battlefront.
Chouhan was speaking at the Col. Ajay Mushran Memorial Lecture organised by the M.P. Foundation at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.
According to an official Press release Chouhan expressed dismay over the fact that there was no War Memorial to remember the sacrifices made by 30,000 of our jawans who had sacrificed their lives while defending our borders. Further generations should not forget the great contribution of these martyrs. He also drew attention to the disparity in pay scales and hoped a separate pay commission would be formed for the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Vivek Tankha, president of the foundation, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of State for Communication & IT and Dr Harish Bhalla also expressed their views on this occasion.
The Chief Minister also announced the naming of the stadium at Narsinghpur after Col. Mushran and said that he had already made the required provision in the budget. He also said that whatever land was required to set up defence colonies in Bhopal and Jabalpur would be provided by his government. He felt that defence personnel should also be given due recognition for services rendered, considering that they worked under most difficult circumstances.
Gen. Deepak Kapoor exhorted the youth to choose the army as a career option as he felt that it was one of the best ways of serving the nation. Eminent people from the defence services who have their roots in Madhya Pradesh were also honoured on this occasion. Senior Journalist Alok Mehta proposed vote of thanks.
The well attended function was also graced by the presence of the State PWD Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, former Chief Minister Digvijay Singh and Chief Secretary to the M.P. Govt. Rakesh Sahni amongst others, the release added. ([email protected])