Op Sindoor Not Over, Hit Pakistan Thrice: PM

New Delhi/Kolkata/Patna: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed the “Sikkim@50” programme in Gangtok via videoconferencing and held a mega roadshow in Patna. In between, Mr Modi launched a scathing attack on the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in his address at Alipurduar, saying, “People of Bengal don't want a cruel government and they have no faith in the TMC dispensation." The PM also inaugurated a slew of development projects in the three states — Sikkim, West Bengal and Bihar.

Addressing a public rally during his visit to north Bengal's Alipurduar, Prime Minister Modi accused the Trinamul Congress of pushing West Bengal through its misrule into a ring of "paanch sankat" (five crisis). He accused Ms Banerjee's party of orchestrating the communal riots in Murshidabad and destroying the education system in the state by masterminding the teachers' jobs scam.'

Mr Modi alleged: “Today Bengal is surrounded by many crises. One is violence and anarchy in the society. Second is the lack of safety for mothers and sisters and brutal crimes against them. Third is a deep hopelessness spreading among the youth because of unemployment. Fourth is corruption and the continuous fall in public faith in the system here. Fifth is the ruling party's politics of snatching the rights of the poor for vested interests.”

In a veiled jibe at the TMC supremo's name over the Jangipur riots, Mr Modi asserted, “What happened in Murshidabad and Malda is the example of nirmamata (heartlessness) of the government here. The lifelong investments of mothers and sisters were turned to ashes. Goondaism was allowed a free run for appeasement politics. When a ruling party's worker, MLA and councillor single out people's houses and torch them, the police enjoy Tamasha. So one can imagine how horrible the situation was. I want to ask the gentle public: Can a government run like this? It, however, does not matter to the nirmam (heartless) government here.”

The Prime Minister further observed: “In every matter, the court needs to interfere here. Nothing is solved without the court's intervention. People of Bengal do not have faith in the TMC government. They find their shelter only at the court.”

Slamming the TMC over the multi-crore teacher recruitment scam, Mr Modi pointed out, “We have seen how the teachers' jobs scam has caused all-round destruction. The TMC government has destroyed the future of thousands of teachers and their families and left their children helpless. The scamsters of TMC have pushed the youth into darkness. It's not a game to play with the future of a few thousand teachers but a destruction of the entire education system in Bengal. It is astonishing to find the TMC leaders who did it are not ready to accept their faults. They'd rather blame the court.”

The Prime Minister also lamented that the TMC government has not been allowing Central schemes for the welfare of Adivasis and tea garden workers in the state.

Lashing out at the TMC's lack of participation in the Central government forums, Mr Modi pointed out, “Recently, we had a Niti Aayog meeting in New Delhi where CMs of all states came to discuss key development programmes. Alas, this time the Bengal government was not present at the meeting, though non-BJP states and leaders of all parties attended it. All the TMC does is play politics 24 hours and nothing else. Bengal's development and the nation's growth are least on their priority.”

On the recent military strike in Pakistan, Mr Modi said, “Now that I am on the sacred land of sindoor khela. It is only right that we speak about a new resolve against terrorism – Operation Sindoor. From this land of Bengal, I, on behalf of 140-crore Indians, declare that Operation Sindoor is not over yet."

Mr Modi said that there was a lot of anger in West Bengal also after the barbarity committed by terrorists in Pahalgam and asserted that during his tenure India struck Pakistan "three times inside its home" for sponsoring terrorism.

“Terrorism and mass murder are the biggest expertise of the Pakistani Army because whenever there is an open war, they face defeat. Ever since it came into existence, Pakistan has only nurtured terror. It has carried out terror attacks on India ever since 1947. Pakistan has nothing positive to offer to the world. Since its very inception, it has been a breeding ground for terror and violence. But India has changed. We no longer tolerate such cowardly acts. Operation Sindoor is our firm answer.”

During his Bengal stopover, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the ₹1,010 crores City Gas Distribution (CGD) project in Alipurduar district, asserting that the state's development is integral to India's journey towards becoming a developed nation.

Before Bengal, Mr Modi was scheduled to travel to Gangtok to attend the 50th anniversary celebrations of Sikkim's statehood. He failed to attend the celebrations due to poor weather conditions. He addressed the Sikkim@50 programme in Gangtok via videoconferencing from Bagdogra.

Addressing Sikkim's statehood function, Mr Modi said that the anniversary was the day to celebrate their achievements of the past 50 years. He also lauded Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang and his team’s energy in making the grand event memorable.
Stressing that the country has witnessed the results of this trust in Sikkim’s remarkable progress, Mr Modi said, “Sikkim is the pride of the nation.”

The Prime Minister called upon everyone to take a collective pledge to propel Sikkim to the highest peak of development, heritage, and global recognition over the next 25 years.

“Our dream is that Sikkim should become a green model state not only for India but for the entire world,” Mr Modi said while highlighting the goal of ensuring a secure home for every citizen of Sikkim.

In his address, the Prime Minister called the Pahalgam terror strike last month an attack on the soul and unity of India and the subsequent Operation Sindoor a "decisive response" to terrorists.

The PM inaugurated a slew of infrastructure projects and laid the foundation stones for several others. The projects inaugurated by Mr Modi included a 500-bed district hospital in Namchi, 'Swarna Jayanti Maitreya Manjari' (at White Hall, Ridge Park), a passenger ropeway at Pelling to Sangacholing Monastery, a 'gaushala' (cowshed) at Mamring and a statue of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Gangtok district.

Later in the evening, the Prime Minister reached Patna on a two-day visit to Bihar. After reaching Bihar, Mr Modi inaugurated the newly constructed passenger terminal of Patna airport. The new terminal, built at a cost of around `1,200 crores, can handle one crore passengers per year. He also laid the foundation stone of the new civil enclave of Bihta airport worth over `1,410 crores. The Bihta airport will serve the town which is rapidly emerging as an educational hub near Patna, housing IIT Patna and the proposed NIT Patna campus.

After the inauguration of the new terminal building, Mr Modi held a mega roadshow in Patna. The roadshow started near the Patna airport and concluded at the Bihar BJP office on Birchand Patel Marg. People showered flower petals on the Prime Minister's cavalcade amid chants of "Bharat mata ki jai" and "Modi-Modi".

The roadshow witnessed a huge crowd on both sides of the 5 km stretch. The entire stretch was decorated with flowers. The route was dotted with cutouts of the BrahMos missile, which was used against Pakistani targets during Operation Sindoor.

After reaching the BJP office, Mr Modi held a meeting with state leaders to discuss party poll preparedness.

On the second day of his Bihar visit, the Prime Minister will inaugurate, lay the foundation stone and dedicate to the nation multiple development projects worth over Rs.48,520 crores from the Karakat Lok Sabha constituency in Rohtas district.