New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that his mind is cool, but hot ‘sindoor (vermilion)’ is flowing through his veins and that India has made it unequivocally clear that Pakistan, its military and economy, will bear a heavy cost for every terror attack on its soil.
Modi held his first public meeting post-Operation Sindoor on Thursday at Rajasthan’s Bikaner, a district sharing its border with Pakistan. Boosting nationalistic emotions, the Prime Minister delivered a message of strength for his country-folks while sounding the alarm for Pakistan.
“India will no longer tolerate nuclear blackmail… India will strike, at its terms, if Pakistan again uses terrorist acts against us,” Modi said, hailing the success of the 7 May Operation Sindoor—India’s retaliatory military action against Pakistan after the 22 April Pahalgam terrorist attack left 26 men dead.
Reminding the crowd that he visited Rajasthan’s Churu after the 2019 Balakot airstrike that targeted a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp, Modi said he had then sworn he would not let India bow down or get destroyed and indicated he has lived up to that by avenging 22 April.
“Today, I landed at Bikaner’s Nal air base. Pakistan tried to target it this time but could not do any damage… It is only a short distance from Pakistan’s Rahim Yar Khan airbase, which, on the other hand, will not open any time soon,” Modi said, mocking the Pakistani forces. “Our armed forces have sent Pakistan’s airfield into the ICU,” he added.
Outlining his government’s new policy to deal with Pakistan and cross-border terrorism, the Prime Minister said that India, through the 7 May Operation Sindoor, laid down three principles to combat terrorism.
“First, if there is a terrorist attack on India, we will give a befitting reply. Our forces will decide the time, our forces will decide the method, and the conditions will also be ours.”
“Second, India is not going to be scared by the threats of the atomic bomb. Third, we will not see the terror mastermind and the government that patronises terror as separate… We will consider them one. Pakistan’s game of state and non-state actors will no longer work.”
‘This is fierce India’
The Prime Minister has further warned Pakistan that if it persists in exporting terrorism, it will find itself “begging for every last penny”.
“Pakistan will not receive a single drop of water from India’s share. The days of playing with the blood of Indians are over; it will now come at a steep price,” Modi said, referring to India’s decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan in abeyance.
At the border district, which is not far from Pakistan, Modi further expounded on the success of Operation Sindoor.
“For those who shed the blood of India, every drop has been accounted for. Those who thought India would remain silent are hiding in their homes today. Those proud of their weapons have buried them under rubble today,” he said.
Addressing the crowd, the PM also said that on 22 April, terrorists targeted “our people” by asking about their religion, and thereby, killing them. “The bullets fired in Pahalgam wounded the hearts of 140 crore Indians, who took a vow to punish the terrorists,” he said.
Commending the valour of the armed forces, Modi further said, “Pakistan was forced to bow down.”
“Responding to the 22 April attack, the armed forces destroyed terrorist camps within just 22 minutes. Our country witnessed that when our enemies target the sindoor of our sisters, our response can shake them to the core,” he said to resounding applause.
However, Modi underlined it was “not a game of revenge” but about “delivering justice”. He said, “This is a new form of justice… This is not just anger, this is fierce India… First, we attacked by entering the house. Now, we attacked directly on the chest.”
“Pakistan can never win a direct fight with India. Whenever there is a fight, it is a mouthful. That is why the country has made terrorism a weapon against India. That had been the case for many decades,” he said. “But, now, Modi is sitting in the chair in Delhi.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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