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Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Sushma Swaraj lauds response to terror attacks under PM Modi
Union minister Sushma Swaraj, who was in Ghaziabad to attend an election event on Tuesday, also sought votes for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate General (retired) VK Singh.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday hailed the country’s responses to Pakistan-sponsored terror attacks in Uri and Pulwama. The Union minister, who was in Ghaziabad to attend an election event at Hindi Bhawan, also sought votes for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate General (retired) VK Singh.
She said that the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded with a surgical strike after the 2016 terror attack on army’s brigade headquarters in Uri and gave a befitting response by carrying out airstrikes at a terror training camp in Pakistan’s Balakot after the Pulwama suicide bombing case in which 40 soldiers of CRPF lost their lives.
“166 persons, including 26 people from 14 countries, were killed during the Mumbai attacks. The then government could have isolated Pakistan at international level. Instead, they only asked Pakistan to get the matter inquired,” Swaraj said.
She said that in 1969 during the founding meeting of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Morocco, the members had invited India’s representative, then foreign minister Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad, and then Pakistan President Yahya Khan had also arrived at the meeting.
“When Pakistan president came to know that India’s representative had arrived, he told the members if India participated he would not attend the meet. The members bowed down before Pakistan and pleaded with the Indian representative to move out on any pretext. The Indian representative was made to sit outside and the meeting was held,” she said.
However, after 50 years under PM Modi the country had taken ‘revenge’ of the humiliation, she said. In a recent meeting of the OIC in the UAE, Pakistan had raised similar objection post Balakot airstrikes and did not attend the meet in which Swaraj was invited as the guest of honour.
“After Balakot airstrike, Pakistan was afraid. I started getting calls from different countries and everyone offered condolences for Pulwama victims and said that you were right in your action in self-defence. Thirdly, they asked in low voice if things would not get hot again. I replied to all that India is a responsible, matured and peace loving nation. But we will not sit back if Pakistan resorts to same tactics,” she added.
She attributed the developments to PM Modi’s decision making and also lauded efforts made by Gen (retired) Singh during evacuation of Indians and foreign nationals from Ukraine, Libya and Yemen.
“Evacuation from Yemen was the most difficult. Efforts were made to stop fire for two hours for a week and Singh was sent. The former army chief went there like a soldier. With his efforts we evacuated 4,800 Indians and 1,972 foreign nationals of 48 countries. These countries also sought our help in evacuation,” she added.
Swaraj also said that 39 Indians were killed in Iraq by ISIS, but Singh was sent after their families wanted some evidence to get assurance that their family members would not return.
“After a series of searches and latching on to different sources, Gen (retired) Singh came across a mass grave. The DNA was later matched with that of their families. It was Singh who could do this job of finding 39 victims from lakh of bodies. All the bodies were brought to India and handed over to their families,” she added.
