Amid LOC violence, Modi visits Jammu, pays tribute to GL Dogra: All you need to know

Amid multiple ceasefire violations at the Line of Control, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Jammu on Friday morning to attend centenary celebrations of former Jammu and Kashmir finance minister Girdhari Lal Dogra. Security had been beefed up in and around Jammu against the backdrop of several infiltration attempts from across the border. According to reports_,_ Modi is expected to announce a Rs 70,000 crore development package for the state. [caption id=“attachment_2347934” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “] PM Narendra Modi in Jammu on Friday. DD News screengrab[/caption] Addressing a gathering at the Jammu University, PM Modi hailed Girdhari Dogra for the selfless contribution to the society without indulging in nepotism. Modi said, “Some legends are such that the kind of life they lead and what they do, they become immortal - Girdhari Lal Dogra is among them. Its a victory for Girdhari Lal Dogra ji that he inspired a line of leaders after him, he became a man who shaped a generation of leaders.” Modi also took a dig at the culture of dynastic politics and appeared to target Congress by taking a veiled swipe at Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra who is embroiled in controversies over his land deals. “I’m very sure that Girdhari Lal ji’s judgement of character was very sharp and it shows in his choice of son-in-law. Kursi di na di, beti zaroor di. Jab ki Arun Jaitley ji aur Girdhari Lal ji ki vichaar dhara bilkul alag thi. Aur aap logon ko to pata hai ki aaj kal daamaadon ke baare mai kya baatein hoti hain (There are sons-in-law who do not bask in borrowed glory. We all know how political damads can be),” Modi said.

He also disapproved of political untouchability, saying the national heritage should not be divided and all leaders who have worked and died for the nation should be given equal regard irrespective of their ideologies and affiliations. Here are the major highlights of the PM Modi’s visit: 

• PM Modi arrived in Jammu on Friday morning amid high security. A team of special protection group (SPG) of Prime Minister’s security had already reached Jammu and carried out sensitisation of the venue where the Prime Minister was scheduled to address a gathering.
• The venue of the function, General Zorawar Singh auditorium of the Jammu University, had been sealed and the entire University had been turned into a fortress, a PTI report said. No vehicle was allowed inside the Jammu university campus and everybody entering the university campus was properly frisked. “Elaborate security arrangements have been kept in place ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Jammu,” SSP (in charge) Jammu Rajiv Panday told PTI.
• He said that the area around the venues of Prime Minister’s visit was properly sensitised and adequate deployment had been made near the venue. “We have covered all the areas near the venue, the police and other security agencies have sanitised the area and personnel have been deployed on all the high-rise buildings in and around the venue,” he said. He said that visitors were frisked before entering the venue and nobody would be allowed in without a valid identity card.
• Sources in the government have said that PM Modi is likely to announce a mega development package of Rs 70,000 crore for the state on his one-day visit. He is also likely to announce an All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for Jammu.
• After multiple border violations by Pakistan, India on Thursday warned Pakistan of “effective and forceful” response to unprovoked firing and cross-border terrorism.
• After multiple infiltration bids, there were reports of an alleged Indian drone infiltrating Pakistani airspace later on the same day. The Pakistan army shot down the drone and claimed that it was aimed at ‘spying’.
• The Pakistan army shot down the drone and claimed that it was a ‘spy’ which was being used for aerial photography near the LoC. The Indian Army, however, rejected the claims of any spying and said that drone didn’t belong to India.
• Later in the day  Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said picture of drone in question shows it’s not of Indian design or available in Indian armed forces’ inventory. “It appears to be a Chinese design which is available off the shelf”.
• He also countered Pakistan government’s charge over Heli manoeuvres by India near LoC on 11 July, 2015 as an “offensive and threatening posture”. “In so far as the allegation of the helicopter manoeuvres is concerned, this has already been taken up and settled through an exchange of hotline messages between local formation commanders at Teetwal on 12-13 July.“The helicopter flight was in connection with the counter-terrorism operation in which three terrorists were neutralised. The Pakistani side raised the issue of our helicopter flight and we had clarified that it was well within the mutually accepted distances from the LoC in India. That the Pakistani government four days later is raising a controversy on a settled issue speaks for itself,” he said.

PM Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif had met in Ufa, Russia last week and struck a positive note and ended with an announcement that he would visit Islamabad in 2016 for the SAARC summit, but made no commitment on restarting dialogue. While the Opposition called the meeting an “eyewash”, BJP had hailed it as a “breakthrough” move. As part of breakthrough announcements after the talks, the two countries had even decided to arrange meetings of senior military officials to reduce tension along the border. However, merely a week later Pakistan violated border truce more than once and four villagers were reportedly injured. There were four ceasefire violations in the span of 24 hours, Times Now had reported on Thursday. With inputs from Agencies