Modi hails naval Commander Tomy's courage
New Delhi, Sep 30 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said injured Naval Commander Abhilash Tomy's courage, bravery and resolve to fight will inspire the younger generation.
In the 48th edition of his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', Modi said Tomy did not accept defeat and continued to fight death after his boat was caught in a huge storm while participating in the Golden Globe Race.
Modi called Tomy a "braveheart" and a "courageous soldier" who kept struggling for many days in mid-ocean and fought to be afloat without food or drink.
Commander Abhilash Tomy of the Indian Navy was seriously injured and left stranded during a boat race but was rescued on September 24 by a French fishing vessel Osiris following a massive joint operation by Indian and Australian authorities for three days.
"A rare example of courage, determination, strength and bravery - a few days ago I talked to Abhilash over the telephone after he was rescued and brought safely aground. I had met Tomy earlier too. Despite having faced such a tough situation, his grit and spirit, his determination to make another similar attempt, is an inspiration for our younger generation," Modi said.
"I pray for Tomy's sound health and I am sure that his courage, bravery and resolve to fight and emerge a winner will inspire our younger generation."
Modi said Tomy is the first Indian who set on a global voyage in a small boat without any modern technology.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
