Praising the National Cadet Corps (NCC) for inculcating discipline and commitment in the youth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said these qualities are directly associated with the development of the country.
"NCC instills the youth of the country with energy, discipline, devotion, commitment and more such qualities. These are directly associated with the development of the country," Modi said while addressing the NCC rally at Cariappa Parade Ground in New Delhi.
Earlier, the Prime Minister had presented awards to the best cadets. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, and the three wing-chiefs were also present at the rally.
Cadets from Bhutan, Russia, and Nepal participated in the event held today.
"No one can stop a country if its youth has all these values. 65% of Indians are below 35 years of age, making India a young country. It is important that India's thought is young as well," Modi added.
The Prime Minister further spoke about the Kashmir issue and said, "Earlier, what was done for solving problems in Kashmir? 3-4 families worked not towards solving the issues but towards nurturing them. The result was that thousands of innocents died due to terrorism. People were forced to even migrate from there."
"Article 370 was implemented in J&K as a temporary measure. It continued for decades as no one showed enough courage to abrogate it. For vested interests and vote-banks, politicians did not solve this issue for 70 years," he added.
"Can we hand our youth a country that has a problem of terrorism? Absolutely not. Kashmir is our pride and freeing it from problems was our responsibility, and we delivered," he said in connection with the removal of Article 370 which gave Kashmir its special status.
He further implored the people to work together to solve the problems affecting the country.
"We will have to work together keeping in mind the challenges of the past, requirements of the present and ambitions for the future," the Prime Minister said.
( With inputs from ANI )