LUCKNOW/SRINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday touted his government’s national security credentials, citing the 2016 surgical strike, the airstrike in Pakistan, and the anti-satellite missile test as evidence of its decisiveness, while attacking the opposition for asking questions about the military operations.
Launching the BJP’s campaign for the Lok Sabha polls with a rally in Meerut, Modi weaved his discourse around the ‘chowkidar’ narrative, addressing himself as ‘chowkidar’ throughout his speech.
Claiming that his government had been more decisive than the previous dispensation in responding to the designs of Pakistan, Modi said some Indian leaders were in a popularity race in Pakistan and questioned the valour of Indian soldiers. “They are all over Pakistani media. You tell me what does our nation want? A hero of India or of Pakistan?” he asked the cheering gathering.
“The country doesn’t need evidence, it needs worthy sons. Those who seek evidence abuse the sons of this soil,” he said, targeting those who had asked questions about the surgical strike and last month’s airstrike.
He repeated his attack on the opposition on the issue at a rally in Jammu later in the day. “After the Indian attack on terrorists in Balakot, every Congress leader is saying things which are not in the interest of the country. Even those (NC and PDP) who ruled Jammu and Kashmir for decades are talking on those lines....
No citizen of the country can accept such talk, which brings cheers in Pakistan,” Modi said. Modi was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath and other state leaders at the rally in Meerut, which will go to the polls along with seven other constituencies in UP on April 11. Voting for all five Uttarakhand seats will be held the same day.
Modi didn’t forget to target the Congress over corruption, referring to Robert Vadra, who is facing a money laundering case, and dynastic politics.
Later, addressing a rally in Rudrapur in Uttarakhand, the PM asked the gathering if it was proper to abuse the Army chief, referring to criticism of Army chief Gen. Bipin Rawat, who hails from Uttarakhand, after the 2016 surgical strike.
He said the hill state was not only a seat of one of the four dhams, Badrinath, but a fifth ‘dham’ as well as it was ‘sainik dham’, the land of soldiers.
In Jammu, Modi asserted that those running terror factories across the border were living in fear now. “It is the first time that terrorists from across the border, who have been spreading terror in India, are living in fear,” he claimed.
PM takes “SARAB” swipe At UP alliance
PM Narendra Modi on Thursday coined a new term, ‘sarab’, for the opposition alliance in UP. “Sapa (Samajwadi Party) ka ‘sa’, RLD ka ‘Ra’ aur Baspa (BSP) ka ‘ba’, matlab ‘sarab’ (Take the ‘Sa’ of Samajwadi Party, ‘Ra’ of Rashtriya Lok Dal and ‘Ba’ of Bahujan Samaj Party),” Modi said. The Congress demanded his apology, accusing him of stooping to a new low.