Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that other than Jammu and Kahmir, there has been no major terror strike in India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014, and asserted that terrorists were scared of the BJP government at the Centre.
Addressing Gujarat BJP leaders on the second day of the party’s three-day state executive meeting at Kevadia in Narmada district, Singh also slammed the Congress, saying the party was not sensitive enough towards the Army jawans as it kept the issue of One Rank-One Pension (OROP) unresolved for 40 years.
“We have not let terrorists succeed in their designs. That is why other than Jammu and Kashmir and some nearby areas, there has been no major terrorist incident in the country in the past seven years,” Singh said.
“It seems that terrorists are now scared of the BJP government. This is not a small thing,” he said.
”Terrorists now realise that they are not secure even in their safe havens. What we did (surgical strike in PoK) after the Uri attack gave a clear message to the world that we can kill terrorists on this side as well as by crossing the border if need arises,” Singh said.
Had the previous Congress governments been sensitive towards Army jawans, the issue of OROP, which the soldiers had been demanding for 40 years, would have been resolved, he said. The Congress did not accept their demand, he added.
”But Modiji implemented it (OROP) immediately. This shows the difference between a Congress government and a BJP government,” he said.
Singh attacked the Congress and its leaders, saying that they only used Mahatma Gandhi’s name, but failed to follow in his footsteps.
Issues like Ram temple at Ayodhya are not mere slogans but BJP’s commitment, he said.
”We always fulfil what we promise. These are not mere election slogans…it’s our cultural commitment. Now, no force can stop the construction of a grand Ram temple. We had sacrificed three of our state governments after the structure (Babri mosque) was razed. Though the Centre had dismissed three of our governments, we never diluted our commitment and movement,” Singh said.
