Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the country will stand united in the face of adversity in the aftermath of the cross-border air strikes and deteriorating ties with Pakistan. “India will live as one, India will work as one, India will grow as one, India will fight as one and India will win as one,” he said.
Modi, addressing Bharatiya Janata Party booth workers from across the country via video-conferencing, said Pakistan was trying to prevent India’s growth. “The enemy tries to destabilise us, carries out terror attacks, they want to stop our growth,” he said. “All our countrymen are standing like a wall to counter their evil designs.”
Referring to the Indian Air Force pilot who is in Pakistani custody, Modi said the officer had demonstrated his bravery even across the border. “The entire country is standing as one with our soldiers,” the prime minister said. “The world is watching our determination.”
India on Wednesday said a pilot was “missing in action” and that a MiG 21 fighter jet was lost after Islamabad “targeted military installations on India’s side”. The Pakistani government tweeted a video clip that purportedly showed Wing Commander Abhinandan in custody, but later deleted the tweet. Pakistan Armed Forces spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor on Wednesday claimed the pilot had been arrested.
Modi said the period between 2014 and 2019 was a time to fulfil the needs of the people, while the next five-year span will be one to fulfil their aspirations. He said the upcoming elections will be fought between two political cultures.
“The BJP culture is where work is done through democratic means,” he said. “In the other culture, which includes the Congress and other parties, the work is decided on the basis of family lineage.”
Modi reiterated his earlier remarks that the grand alliance of parties against the BJP would not be able to govern effectively. “The combination of ‘mahamilavat’ [adulteration] is like a combination of oil and water, which renders both of them useless,” he said. “The parties which didn’t see eye to eye are now holding hands.”
Modi claimed that such “adulteration” was being done only to keep the Congress alive, and not to form a government.
Taking questions from several booth-level workers, Modi said he expected the BJP to perform better in the southern states. “The coalition government of Karnataka isn’t able to live up to the expectations of the people. The people of Kerala are sick of the United Democratic Front and the Left Democratic Front government,” he said. “The people of Andhra Pradesh have anger against the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party. Therefore, I can expect a better performance in South India.”
Opposition criticises video conference
The Congress on Thursday urged Modi and the BJP to stop campaigning in the backdrop of heightened tensions with Pakistan. “It is shameful that while India awaits the return of Wing Commander Abhinandan, our Prime Time PM cannot stop campaigning even for a few minutes,” the party tweeted. “We stand with our soldiers and will continue to question the Modi government on their apathy.”
Bahujan Samaj Party President Mayawati also criticised Modi for holding the event at a time when the “India is facing hostility of war”.
Opposition parties on Wednesday had expressed anguished over the BJP’s “blatant politicisation” of the sacrifices made by the Armed Forces. Modi was criticised for addressing a political rally in Rajasthan’s Churu just hours after the Indian government said it had carried out a “non-military pre-emptive strike” on a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp across the Line of Control. The terror outfit had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir in which 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force were killed on February 14.
The prime minister was also criticised for launching the Khelo India app at the National Youth Parliament Festival on Wednesday morning even as Pakistan’s military spokesperson officially said their air force had shot down two Indian aircraft inside “Pakistani airspace” and that one Indian pilot had been arrested by troops on the ground.
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