The harsh spells of heat waves are intensifying. Similar trends are observed in the political scenario as elections approach. Before heading to Coochbehar on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a rally in Bihar’s Jamui, ‘Aaj Ka Bharat Ghar Me Ghus ke Marta Hai!’ On Friday, he repeated the same in Churu, Rajasthan.
On that day, he emphasized, “I have given the Indian forces a free hand to retaliate against the enemy at the border… The adversaries know it’s Modi, New India, which won’t spare anyone for their wrong deeds and will punish the enemies by entering their homes.”
The focal topic for the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign was the Pulwama attack and the Indian Air Force’s ‘Surgical Strike’ in Balakot.
During the past Lok Sabha campaign, the focus was on Pakistan’s terrorism and ‘the Indian government’s response.’Over the past two days of the election campaign, Modi has consistently raised issues related to ‘anti-Pakistan sentiment and nationalism’, by retrospecting outcomes it has been observed that votes of 2019 was heavily influenced by these slogans.
On that same day, Modi remarked that the British newspaper ‘The Guardian’ had mentioned that 20 anti-Indian militants were ordered by the Indian Government to be assassinated. The report also alleges the involvement of the Indian intelligence agency ‘Research and Analysis Wing – RAW.’ However, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar dismissed this claim as baseless, stating that targeted killings in other countries were not the Indian Government’s policies.
On that day, during the rally, Modi claimed that when India conducted the Balakot strike in 2019, he came to address the crowd in Churu. At that time, he had pledged to everyone, ‘I will not let the country get devastated.’
Condemning the Congress party he said, ‘When we conducted airstrikes and surgical strikes, the Congress sought proof of our military’s bravery… Disrespecting the military and dividing the country are the major objectives of the Congress.’
He asserted that during the opposition’s tenure, they restrained the forces’ capabilities.When our country faced attacks, they prevented the forces from retaliating! He further stated, ‘We have given the military a free hand. If anyone attacks India, they will receive an apt response.’ The location where he uttered these words wasn’t far from the Pak-border. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh also stated in an interview on that day, ‘If terrorists flee to Pakistan after attacking this country, then our Indian Army will kill them there.’
Many political analysts believe that in Bihar and Rajasthan, he is attempting to polarize votes around sentiments of patriotism, military fervor, and the response to Pakistan’s terrorism and decisive attacks. It is undeniable for anyone in the BJP’s camp that this narrative was successful in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Modi also addressed the topic of ‘One Rank, One Pension.’ He asserted, ‘We have implemented One Rank, One Pension to ensure that they receive the respect they rightfully deserve.’
Modi did not mention Pakistan anywhere during these two days. On Thursday, he stated, ‘A small country, which doesn’t even have enough to eat, they had the audacity to conduct terrorism in India, and the then government in power, only made allegations to the concerned countries. They didn’t allow the military to retaliate against the opponents, this caused their morale to decline. But I decided that this cannot continue like this. That’s why today’s India is showing the way forward to the entire world.’
Although India gives an appropriate response to its enemies, the Foreign Minister has stated that New Delhi has no connection with the targeted killings in other countries .
However, it has been alleged by the British daily that there has been an involvement of the Indian Government for several recent killings of anti-India militants in foreign land. Pakistani intelligence has even shown some evidence related to this claim.
They have claimed that after the Pulwama Attack, the Indian Government has taken an initiative to kill Anti-Indians in the Foreign Land, allegedly seeking assistance from the RAW, to execute these operations. Notably most of these assassinations have been carried out by arms of some unknown individual.
