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State or non-state, will hit back at terror: PM
PM Modi asserts Operation Sindoor continues; India will firmly respond to terrorism. He highlights infrastructure progress and attacks opposition for past failures.
Operation Sindoor is not over and New Delhi will respond firmly to every act of terrorism without distinction between state and non-state actors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, adding that India-made weapons, including the Brahmos missile, entered enemy territory and wreaked havoc.
Speaking at two separate rallies in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Modi lashed out at opposition parties, underlined his government’s commitment to eradicate Maoist violence, and hailed his administration’s record of infrastructure development and welfare. He also met the family of one of the victims of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which triggered Operation Sindoor.
“The homegrown systems, including the BrahMos missile, penetrated hundreds of miles deep in enemy territory and delivered precise strikes. The explosions occurred exactly as intended. This is the power of Make in India,” he said. “The BrahMos missile that gave sleepless nights to the enemy during Operation Sindoor, its new address is also Uttar Pradesh,” he declared in a rally in Kanpur.
Earlier in the day, speaking in Bihar, Modi said he had lived up to his pledge given on April 24 from Bihar’s soil of punishing the perpetrators of terrorism “beyond their imagination”.
“The people of Sasaram know the doctrine of Lord Ram. ‘Praan jaaye par vachan na jaaye’ (Rather die than break a promise)... After the dreadful terrorist attack in Pahalgam, I had promised the country from the land of Bihar that the hideouts of the perpetrators of terrorism would be razed to the ground, that they would get a punishment beyond their imagination. Today, when I came to Bihar, I have fulfilled my promise,” he said.
He was addressing a public meeting at Bikramganj, close to Sasaram, the administrative centre of Rohtas district, after inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of development projects worth ₹49,500 crore. Bihar governor Arif Mohammad Khan, chief minister Nitish Kumar, Union ministers Jitan Ram Manjhi, Chirag Paswan, Rajiv Ranjan ‘Lalan’ Singh, Giriraj Singh, Nityanand Rai and Bihar’s two deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, and ministers were also present.
Kumar thanked him for including caste in the decennial census – a key demand raised by the Bihar chief minister in 2022. I must salute the Prime Minister for agreeing to the caste census. We had been seeking it for so long...Some parties are talking nonsense about caste census. While in power, they had an opportunity which they squandered,” he said.
In Kanpur, Modi made it clear that India’s response to terrorism would be uncompromising and entirely dictated by its armed forces.
“If I may put it in Kanpuriya style — dushman kahin bhi ho, haunk diya jayega (the enemy, wherever they may be, will be struck),” he said at the Chandra Shekhar Azad University for Agriculture ground after inaugurating and laying the foundation stone for projects worth ₹47,600 crore.
The PM stated that India would no longer be deterred by the threat of nuclear weapons.
“India will not be intimidated by hollow threats. Our decisions will not be based on such posturing. Those responsible for terrorism — whether within the state or beyond — will be held accountable,” he said. “The drama of state and non-state actors will not work with us. We won’t differentiate whenever we respond to terror attacks,” he said.
He also invoked Atmanirbhar Bharat as a cornerstone of India’s growing strategic and economic autonomy, and said Pakistan begged for the ceasefire. “The country that was pleading before India must know the Operation Sindoor was not over…It should not have a false sense of security,” he said.
“We destroyed terror camps deep across the border. The courage of our armed forces forced the Pakistan army to plead for a ceasefire. Let there be no illusion — Operation Sindoor is ongoing.”
Modi focused heavily on Kanpur’s progress in his 37-minute-long speech. He said the kind of infrastructure, amenities, and resources once seen only in major metro cities are now becoming visible in Kanpur as well. “The Kanpur Metro stands as proof that with the right intentions, strong willpower and an honest government, genuine efforts can be made for the development of both the state and the nation,” he said.
In Bihar, Modi said that the Indian forces demonstrated their prowess and the power of Sindoor to give the enemy as well as the world a glimpse of the strength of new India and its new doctrine. “Those who wiped out Sindoor of our sisters had their hideouts and safe havens reduced to rubble by our brave forces in one stroke and within minutes their airbases, military installations were also destroyed,” he added.
Referring to Bihar as the land of Veer Kunwar Singh, a legendary freedom fighter, Modi said that thousands of youths from here go to the armed forces and Border Security Force. “Operation Sindoor also demonstrated the prowess of the BSF and I pay my tribute to Md Imtiyaz, who laid down his life fighting for the nation on May 10. At present the enemy has seen just one arrow from our quiver. Our fight against terrorism has neither stopped nor halted. In case of any misadventure, India will drive the terrorists out of their holes and crush them,” he added.
Modi said that India’s fight was against enemies both across the borders as well as within the country. “The last few years have shown how we finished them inside the country. What was the situation in Kaimur, Rohtas and adjoining areas due to unbridled Maoist activities is not hidden from anyone. No development activity could take place here. Nitish Kumar tried to change that and after 2014 we added pace by eliminating Maoists. Now India has started getting the benefits of our efforts,” he added.
Modi said that while there were 125 Maoist-affected districts prior to 2014, now the number was reduced to just 18, and the day is not far off when they will be completely wiped out.
He also had a dig at the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal for “trying to cheat people with social justice while doing everything to loot and exploit the deprived sections of Dalits and backward classes when they were in power”.
“Before the NDA government in Bihar, the state was devoid of basic infrastructure, roads and electricity. But that era is over now. Bihar has modern airports and high speed trains, four and six-lane roads cross-crossing it, electricity and there is huge infrastructure development. All these works could have been done earlier also, but those in power looted and exploited the poor by taking away their land for jobs,” he said.
