STATE TIMES NEWS
Jammu: Asserting that demonetisation will not only hit terrorism and unrest, but also put an end to fake currency in circulation, actor Nana Patekar on Wednesday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move and urged common man to bear the inconvenience for some time.
“Demonetisation is a good step. Due to demonetisation, terrorism will get a hit,” Patekar told reporters.
“As common people, we should tolerate the inconvenience for 10, 15 and 25 days, and it is a very minor difficulty caused for us (on account of demonetization), which is minor in terms of that of the nation (is going through due to parallel economy of black money and fake currency)”, he added.
Patekar, who visited BSF schools and interacted with schools children and later paid tributes of BSF martyrs said “Those who used to give Rs 500 note to engineer a stone pelting (by young children), has stopped.
Calling the initiative a big blow to fake currency being printed and send by Pakistan into the country, the actor said, “The money (fake) which used to be printed (in Pakistan) and comes from across the border that constituted 30 percent of fake notes in our currency. We now got rid of it.”
Asserting that Kashmiri children should take part in development of India, veteran actor Patekar said they must focus on education.
“I want to tell the children of Kashmir that they should read, write and learn and come to the mainstream,” Patekar said while pointing towards the unrest in the Valley which has witnessed a series of incidents in which the educational institutes were set ablaze and pelted.
Patekar, who was on a visit to a BSF school interacted with the students and asked them to “shun violence”.
On being asked about school children involved in stone pelting incidents, he said, “By doing this, you cannot build your career. They should learn. Come to the mainstream and contribute in nation building.”
“They (Kashmir students) should first understand that this (India) is their own country and then everything will be resolved,” he said.
Nana meets Martyr Gurnam’s family
Jammu: Family members of brave heart Sepoy Gurnam Singh, who attained martyrdom in a sniping incident in Hiranagar Sector on October 21, Wednesday met filmstar Nana Patekar at frontier headquarters of BSF in Paloura.
During their brief meeting the younger brother and sister of Gurnam Singh expressed their desire to join the Border guarding force and serve the mother Nation. Patekar while paying tributes to the brave son of the soil met parents of Gurnam Singh and consoled them. Patekar even kneel down and touched feet of Gurnam Singh’s mother and grandfather. “We wish to join BSF to serve the nation and safeguard our borders like my brother”, Gurnam’s sister Gurjeet Kaur told the actor during interaction. Like his sister, Manjeet-younger brother of Gurnam also expressed his wish to join BSF.
“You are family of a brave heart martyr. Nation salutes you. We are proud of you. He was the real hero,” Patekar said.
Entire family of Gurnam including his father Kulbeer Singh, mother Jaswant Kaur, brother Manjeet, sister Gurjeet and grandfather met the actor.
Earlier, Patekar wrote a message in the memory of martyrs “JALD HI VAPAS AAJAO JANG ABHI KHATAM NAHI HUI HAI !
Thereafter, the actor went to meet BSF troops and their families deployed in Samba Sector. He had Barakhana with the troops. He said that after coming here he was surprised to see highly motivated BSF Jawans working in extremely difficult environment on the border away from their families. The actor got emotional and said that BSF duty posts at International Boundary where they remain present day and night throughout the year are like temples for him and having visiting them he felt purified.
While speaking with the BSF Jawans there he said that he was left humbled by their courage, bravery, and commitment. This visit has made him 16 years younger and he would like to come again and again to stay with troops at Border. He said that BSF’s outstanding contribution to the security of our nation cannot be overstated. It is not an easy job, but our jawans do it with dedication and resolve.
