Manohar Parrikar to be felicitated by Goa BJP for his 'achievements' on surgical strike

Panaji: Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar would address a public gathering on 4 October in Goa where he would be felicitated by the Goa BJP for conducting surgical strike on Pakistan. “Parrikar is expected to address more than 10,000 people at the historic Azad Maidan in Panaji on 4 October, where he would be congratulated and felicitated for the achievements over the surgical strike,” BJP Goa unit president Vinay Tendulkar told PTI. Tendulkar claimed this would be the first public speech by the Defence Minister post the surgical strike. [caption id=“attachment_3030492” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A file image of Defence Minister[/caption] “We are proud of his achievements and hence we want to express our sentiments to him,” he said. On Tuesday afternoon, Parrikar will arrive at the Dabolim airport from where he would be taken in a procession to Azad Maidan. To a question, Tendulkar said the surgical strike will be one of the issues that would be highlighted during the Goa Assembly elections due next year. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that sacrifices in Uri attack would not go in vain and he has kept the word. Only BJP and its government have the capability to take such stern action which is historic. We will be highlighting this achievement during the forthcoming poll campaign in Goa,” Tendulkar said. India had recently carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC with the Army saying that its special forces inflicted “significant casualties” on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Defence sources said seven terror launch pads across the Line of Control(LoC) were destroyed by special forces of the Indian Army on the intervening night of 28 and 29 September in a nearly five-hour-long operation during which heliborne and ground forces were deployed.