Outstanding soldier, true patriot: Modi, Uddhav Thackeray mourn Rawat's death

Indias first Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat his wife and 11 others were killed when their IAF Mi17 helicopter crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadus Nilgiris district on Wednesday the IAF announcedWith deep regret it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident the Indian Air Force said in a tweetWith deep regret it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accidentmdash Indian Air Force IAF_MCC December 8 2021PM Narendra Modi called CDS General Bipin Rawat a true patriot and said India will never forget his exceptional serviceAs Indiarsquos first CDS Gen Rawat worked on diverse aspects relating to our armed forces including defence reforms He brought with him a rich experience of serving in the Army India will never forget his exceptional servicemdash Narendra Modi narendramodi December 8 2021Gen Bipin Rawat was an outstanding soldier A true patriot he greatly contributed to modernising our armed forces and security apparatus His insights and perspectives on strategic matters were exceptional His passing away has saddened me deeply Om Shanti pictwittercomYOuQvFT7Etmdash Narendra Modi narendramodi December 8 2021Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray also expressed heartfelt condolences over the demise of CDS Gen Bipin Rawat his wife and other officers mdash CMO Maharashtra CMOMaharashtra December 8 2021Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in a series of tweets offered his condolences He said Deeply anguished by the sudden demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat his wife and 11 other Armed Forces personnel in an extremely unfortunate helicopter accident today in Tamil Nadu His untimely death is an irreparable loss to our Armed Forces and the country he saidDeeply anguished by the sudden demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat his wife and 11 other Armed Forces personnel in an extremely unfortunate helicopter accident today in Tamil Nadu His untimely death is an irreparable loss to our Armed Forces and the countrymdash Rajnath Singh rajnathsingh December 8 2021General Rawat had served the country with exceptional courage and diligence As the first Chief of Defence Staff he had prepared plans for jointness of our Armed Forcesmdash Rajnath Singh rajnathsingh December 8 2021My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their loved ones in this accident Praying for the speedy recovery of Gp Capt Varun Singh who is currently under treatment at the Military Hospital Wellingtonmdash Rajnath Singh rajnathsingh December 8 2021Union Home Minister Amit Shah also expressed his condolences over the loss of livesI also express my deepest condolences on the sad demise of Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other Armed Forces personnel My thoughts are with the bereaved families May God give them the strength to bear this tragic lossPraying for the speedy recovery of Gp Capt Varun Singhmdash Amit Shah AmitShah December 8 2021Lok Sabha MP and former Congress President Rahul Gandhi also extended his condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in this tragedyI extend my condolences to the family of Gen Bipin Rawat and his wife This is an unprecedented tragedy and our thoughts are with their family in this difficult time Heartfelt condolences also to all others who lost their lives India stands united in this griefmdash Rahul Gandhi RahulGandhi December 8 2021Shocked and saddened to hear about the demise of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat He had a highly decorated career and his service in the defence field over the past four decades will always be remembered My heartfelt condolences to his family tweeted NCP President Sharad PawarWe trained together at NDA We fought terrorists together in Kashmir In the loss of Brig LS Lidder SM VSM today India has lost one of its brightest amp bravest officers amp I have lost a friend A decorated soldier caring husband amp doting father you will be missed Tony pictwittercom4cIV5WEtVrmdash RajyavardhanRathore Ra_THORe December 8 2021External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar too paid his condolencesDeeply shocked at tragic demise of CDS General Bipin Rawat and his wifeWe worked closely together in the last few years It is a huge loss to the nationmdash Dr S Jaishankar DrSJaishankar December 8 2021Lt Gen HS Panag too offered his condolence to the families of Gen Rawat and 12 officersMy sincere condolences to families of General Rawat and 12 officers soldiersair officers who were killed in line of dutymdash Lt Gen H S PanagR rwac48 December 8 2021Veena Naravane wife of Army chief MM Naravane wrote a heartfelt post on Twitter to express her griefMrs Veena Naravane President AWWA amp all members of AWWA fraternity express profound grief and condolences on the sad demise of Mrs Madhulika Rawat Ex President AWWA She was an epitome of grace and compassion She will be deeply missed pictwittercomQ5nKb1gxn3mdash ADG PI INDIAN ARMY adgpi December 8 2021General MM Naravane COAS amp All Ranks of IndianArmy pay heartfelt condolences on the untimely demise of General Bipin Rawat CDS Mrs Madhulika Rawat amp 11 other passengers on board in an unfortunate air crash at Coonoor 1n pictwittercomsc6bmFodXJmdash ADG PI INDIAN ARMY adgpi December 8 2021The dynamic and inspiring leadership of General Bipin Rawat shall remain eternally etched in our memories The IndianArmedForces will forever remain indebted to his invaluable contributions 2n pictwittercom0V2kcMtNUXmdash ADG PI INDIAN ARMY adgpi December 8 2021With inputs from IANS