Pakistan’s top priority is to hate India, while ours is development: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that after partition, Pakistan’s sole aim has been enmity towards India, while in India the focus has been on development.

“After partition, the country that was born had only one goal, to oppose India, to hate India and to harm India. But India’s goal has been to eradicate poverty, to strengthen its economy and to progress as a Viksit Bharat. The vision of a Viksit Bharat will only be realised through a strong military and economy. We are constantly working in that direction,” he said at a rally in Dahod in Gujarat, where he is on a two-day visit, the first after Operation Sindoor.

Modi, who began his speech in Gujarati, recalled that he took oath as Prime Minister on this day 11 years back. He switched over to Hindi when he spoke of Operation Sindoor, which he said was a reflection of the sentiments and values of Indians.

“After what terrorists did in Pahalgam can any Indian remain silent? Can Modi be silent? If anyone erases the sindoor of our sisters, their erasure is definite,” he said after a road show in Vadodara, where family members of Indian Army officer Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, one of the two women officers of the Indian armed forces who gave daily briefings on Operation Sindoor, showered petals on him.

“The terrorists would not have imagined in their dreams, how difficult it would be to take on Modi,” he said. After the Pahalgam attack, the Prime Minister had said that the terrorists will be tracked and meted out punishment beyond their imagination.

He said even today the images of the Pahalgam attack make the blood boil. This, Modi said, challenged 140 crore Indians, so he did what he was given responsibility for as Prime Minister. He said he gave the armed forces full freedom to respond and hailed them for the success of Operation Sindoor targeting nine terror bases, which on the night of May 6, in 22 minutes, were turned to dust.

Modi also said they gave a befitting reply to the Pakistani army. “They demonstrated what the world has not seen in many decades,” he said.

Earlier, he spoke of the importance of self-reliance, making a pitch for make in India. He spoke of manufacturing in India. He inaugurated multiple development projects worth around Rs 24,000 crore in Dahod, including the Loco Manufacturing Shop-Rolling Stock Workshop. During his visit, he is set to inaugurate several infrastructural development projects worth Rs 82,000 crore.

GujaratIndian partitionNarendra ModiPakistanPrime MinisterViksit Bharat