Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the passing away of India's first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat was a great loss for every patriot Indian.
"General Bipin Rawat ji was as brave as he was working hard to make the country's forces self-reliant and the whole country has been witness to it," he said.
Addressing a public meeting in Balrampur on Saturday, Modi admitted that the country was passing through pain on the death of the chief of defence staff.
"But we will neither stop our pace nor progress. Campaign to make the country's armies self-reliant and strengthen coordination between the three armed forces will continue," he added.
The prime minister said wherever General Rawat was, he would see his India moving forward with new resolutions.
"The work of increasing the security of the country's borders and its infrastructure will be speeded up,” he added.
Specially mentioning Group Captain Varun Singh, who is fighting for his life after getting critically injured in the chopper crash along with the chief of defence staff, the prime minister said, "The doctors are working hard to save the life of Group Captain Varun Singh ji, a son of UP, a resident of Deoria. I pray to Maa Pateshwari to save his life,”
He said, “The entire nation is with the family of Varun Singh ji today, along with the families of the heroes we have lost."