Odia girl Barnali Sahu took everyone by surprise when she was asked by none other than Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to read out his speech and she did it with panache at DRDO Bhawan in Delhi on Thursday.
The third edition of Project Veer Gatha was being organised at DRDO Bhawan in Delhi. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was addressing the gathering. Before reading out his speech, he handed the podium over to Barnali and asked her to do it on his behalf.
A confident, Barnali read the Defence Minister’s speech to a thunderous applause.
“I still remember that three years ago, the cornerstone of this project was laid down as per the direction and vision of the Prime Minister with the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Education. By introducing the project, our objective was that we should introduce the brave sons of this soil to our children. We should spread the stories of bravery that would inculcate the nation-first feeling in our children. I am pleased to see that we are successful to a great extent in achieving the aim with which we started project Veer Gatha,” she read out on behalf of the Defence Minister.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and army officers heaped praises on Barnali.