By Saurabh Trivedi

New Delhi [India], January 25 (ANI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday took everyone by surprise when he asked a girl student from the audience to come on stage and deliver a speech on his behalf.

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Singh was addressing the third edition of Project 'Veer Gatha', a collaborative initiative of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Education as part of Republic Day celebrations, at DRDO Bhawan in Delhi.

Singh asked Barnali Sahu, a girl from Odisha to deliver his speech.

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Reading out the speech of Defence Minister, Bernali Sahu said that all the factors are necessary to achieve the goal set by the Prime Minister of making India a developed nation by 2047, but the most important contribution will be made by children. These children will bear the responsibility of a developed nation on their shoulders.

"Children are the most important asset for building a developed nation. The wealth of this nation is Amarina Bano sitting here. The asset of this nation is Isha Sharma present here. The wealth of this nation is all children present here, who will shape the future of this country in future," said Sahu on behalf of the Defence Minister.

Shau, a Class 12th student of DAV public school in Cuttak, said it was an unbelievable moment for her.

"I felt extremely proud for delivering a speech on behalf of the Defence Minister. It was a memorable moment," she said.

Approximately 1.37 crore students from around 2.43 lakh schools actively took part in this initiative. Following the participation, a total of 100 winners were chosen at the national level.

The announcement of these winners, 25 each from Class 3 to 5, Class 6 to 8, Class 9 to 10, and Class 11 to 12 categories, were made on January 5.

The Defence Minister and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan felicitated Veer Gatha 3.0 winners. A total of 100 school students called 'Super-100' received the awards in different categories. The award winners students will attend the Republic Day Parade. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)