'India is in safe hands': Narendra Modi hails IAF strike in Pakistan, vows not to let nation bow down

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the “country was in safe hands” as he addressed a rally in Rajasthan’s Churu after convening a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting in Delhi in the wake of Indian Air Force’s (IAF) strike in Pakistan’s Balakot. [caption id=“attachment_6156151” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a rally in Churu, Rajasthan. ANI[/caption] Modi hailed the air strikes and said that it was the perfect opportunity to remember the pledge he took in 2014 after taking over as the prime minister of India as he recited BJP’s anthem, “Saugandh mujhe iss mitti ki, mein ye desh mitne nahi dunga, mein desh nahi rukne dunga, mein desh nahi jhukne dunga" (I swear that I will not let this nation be erased, stopped or bowed down).” IAF conducted precision strikes in Balakot, Muzaffarabad and Chakoti across the Line of Control (LoC) destroying the Jaish-e-Mohammed’s (JeM) biggest training camp and elimination many terrorists, which the defence secretary termed as a “pre-emptive military action”. Meanwhile, Modi also talked about the National War Memorial that was inaugurated in Delhi on Monday and said that an amount of Rs 35,000 crore has been disbursed to retired defence personnel, adding that the One Rank One Pension scheme will benefit 20 lakh families of soldiers.

सौगंध मुझे इस मिट्टी की, मैं देश नहीं झुकने दूंगा... pic.twitter.com/XJkxa1HLQR

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 26, 2019

He then criticised the Congress government in Rajasthan saying that while farmers all over the country received the first instalment of Rs 2,000 under the PM-KISAN scheme, farmers in Rajasthan did not get the amount as the government did not submit the required list to the Centre.