New Delhi, August 15: Along with the main Independence Day celebrations of the country, a special celebration of the success of Operation ‘Sindoor’ of the military forces against Pakistan was held from the ramparts of the Red Fort. The floral decoration was also done on the basis of this operation. After the flower shower from two helicopters of the Air Force, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also mentioned ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ in the weapons used during Operation ‘Sindoor’ in his address.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi first reached Rajghat this morning and paid homage to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. After this, his convoy reached the Red Fort, where he was welcomed by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of State for Defense Sanjay Seth and Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.
The Defence Secretary then introduced the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Delhi Area, Lieutenant General Bhavnish Kumar to the Prime Minister. The GOC Delhi Area escorted the Prime Minister to the ceremonial saluting dais, where a joint contingent of inter-service and Delhi Police Guard saluted the Prime Minister. The Guard of Honour contingent for the Prime Minister comprised 24 personnel each from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Delhi Police.
The Indian Air Force coordinated the Independence Day celebrations this year. The Guard of Honour was commanded by Wing Commander AS Sekhon. The Army contingent in the Prime Minister’s Guard was commanded by Major Arjun Singh, the Navy contingent was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Komaldeep Singh and the Air Force contingent was commanded by Squadron Leader Rajan Arora. The Delhi Police contingent was commanded by Additional DCP Rohit Rajbir Singh.
After inspecting the Guard of Honour, the Prime Minister proceeded to the ramparts of the Red Fort, where he was welcomed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh.
After this, Lieutenant General Bhavnish Kumar, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Delhi Area, took the Prime Minister to the platform on the rampart to hoist the national flag. Flying Officer Rashika Sharma, who was present there, assisted the Prime Minister in hoisting the national flag.
At the same time, the brave gunners of 1721 Field Battery (Ceremonial) gave a 21-gun salute. Major Pawan Singh Shekhawat commanded this ceremonial battery using indigenous 105 mm light field guns. After the flag hoisting, 128 personnel of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Delhi Police gave a ‘National Salute’ to the tricolor. Wing Commander Tarun Dagar commanded this inter-service guard and police guard.
In the National Flag Guard, the Army contingent was commanded by Major Prakash Singh, the Navy contingent was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Mohammad Parvez and the Air Force contingent was commanded by Squadron Leader VV Sharavan. The Delhi Police contingent was commanded by Additional DCP Abhimanyu Poswal. During the ‘Rashtriya Salute’, the Air Force band played the tune of the national anthem, which was conducted by Junior Warrant Officer M Deka.
It is worth mentioning that it was the first time that 11 Agniveer air musicians also became a part of the band playing the national anthem.
As soon as the Prime Minister hoisted the national flag, two MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force showered flowers at the venue with a national flag. Wing Commander Vinay Poonia and Wing Commander Aditya Jaiswal were the captains of these helicopters.