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'Jai jawan, jai kisan aur jai vigyan,' Vajpayee coins new slogan

Improving upon the slogan of then prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today gave the nation a new one, 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan aur Jai Vigyan', to the nation from the site where five nuclear tests were conducted by India last week.

Addressing a Sainik Sammelan in the Pokhran field firing range, Vajpayee commended the feat achieved by the scientists, engineers and armymen through teamwork that resulted in the successful conduct of the tests. Congratulating the scientists and engineers for the feat, he expressed confidence that they would also succeed in achieving such success in other walks of life.

Vajpayee reiterated that ''the government will accord topmost priority to national security and we will preserve it at any cost.''

He said, ''We have conducted the nuclear tests in view of the atmosphere of insecurity prevailing around the country.''

The prime minister flew back to New Delhi from Jaisalmer this afternoon.

Vajpayee's special Indian Air Force plane took off at 1442 hours from the Jaisalmer airport. Rajasthan Governor Bali Ram Bhagat, Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and several other dignitaries saw him off at the airport.

Vajpayee, who was accompanied by his political advisor Pramod Mahajan, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Jaswant Singh, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and former Union minister Bhuvanesh Chaturvedi, arrived in Jaisalmer at 2120 hours last night.

He inspected the blast site in Pokhran range this morning, addressed a Sainik Sammelan and a public meeting in Pokhran town prior to his departure.

This was Vajpayee's first visit to Rajasthan since assuming office.

UNI

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