While speaking at the 90th annual pilgrimage of Sivagiri Mutt in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, he said, “Today India is one of the largest economies of the world because of its dedication and entrepreneurship. We are among the top five economies of the world,” he said.

“It was far-sightedness of Narayan Guru that he instructed to propagate topics like education and cleanliness through Sivagiri Mutt to create modern consciousness and with the blessings of saints, the government is also focusing on these topics. Indigenous is a part of Indian culture, and Sri Narayan Guru ji propagated it through his teachings and Sivagiri mutt is also following the same path,” he said.

Talking about India’s relations with its neighbours, the Defence Minister said friendly relations won’t be maintained at the cost of national security.

“He also said that India wants to have and maintain friendly relations with its neighbours, but it will not be done at the cost of national security. He gave the reference to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s remark that we can change friends but not our neighbours,” he said.

He also paid homage to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother Heeraben, who passed away early morning today.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother Hiraben Modi passed away today. PM Modi said that no one will cancel any of their programs anywhere and will only return to Delhi after the completion of their programs,” he added.
A two-minute silence was observed by all the attendees at the event, as a mark of respect to the departed soul and also shared the grief and sorrow of the bereaved family.