Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the Indian Army does not have to speak to display its valour. While addressing ex-servicemen in Bhopal after inaugurating a war memorial, he paid tribute to Indian soldiers and also commended Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar for letting his work speak for itself.

Modi also recalled the support provided by the Indian Army during the 2014 Kashmir floods and lauded the military for its recent surgical strikes along the Line of Control with Pakistan. While speaking of the armed forces' rescue work, the prime minister said, "They never thought for once that these are the people who throw stones at us, blind us, break our heads, sometimes even kill us." He added that India has never attacked another country for its land, and that Indian soldiers made up the largest section of the United Nations' peacekeeping forces.

The prime minister also brought up the One Rank, One Pension scheme and said that his government had "kept its promise" to implement it. He said the Centre was in the process of making four separate disbursements for the scheme and that Rs 5,500 crore has been given for OROP so far.

Modi's speech comes amid worsening ties with Pakistan, following the militant attack on an Indian Army base in Kashmir's Uri sector and the surgical strikes along the LoC.