Battle Against Corona: India in good position says Amit Shah

Gurgaon : India is in a "good position" in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic and the country will fight the disease with determination and enthusiasm, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday.

Shah spoke after participating in a mega plantation drive initiated by the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to plant 1.37 crore saplings in their campuses by this month-end. He planted a peepal sapling at the CRPF officers' training academy campus in Kadarpur village here.

"The world is seeing that if a successful battle has been fought anywhere across the globe against the coronavirus it is in India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Shah said.

"It was feared that how would a large country like ours would face this challenge given that we have a federal structure of governance, dense population of 130 crore people and no single chain of command," he said.

But the 130 crore people of the country, all states and every individual fought the battle against Covid-19 as one nation, the home minister said. Across the globe, Shah said, governments are fighting this disease but in India everyone has joined hands.

"We are in a good position in this coronavirus battle and will continue this fight with determination and there is no atmosphere of fear. We have the passion to battle it and the enthusiasm to defeat it," he said in his address to the chiefs of various CAPFs and troops who heard him via a web link.

"As the home minister of the country, I can proudly say that the security forces of the country have a 'big role' to play in this battle fought by India," he said. He praised these forces for rendering duties at airports, railway stations and public places apart from aiding the state police forces for law and order duties.

Shah noted that Covid-19 is a very contagious disease that challenges the very existence of the human kind. Saluting the 'corona warriors' of the CAPFs and other security and police forces, the home minister said they have set a new example of rendering their duty and fighting the pandemic at the same time.

He said over 31 CAPF personnel have laid down their lives while rendering Covid-19 duties out of which ten personnel are from the Central Reserve Police Force. "I assure you that your sacrifice will not go in vain. Your sacrifice will be written in golden words," he said.