How Rajnath Singh exposed China and Pakistan?
In Qingdao, China, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh refused to sign a draft joint statement of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) after noticing that Pakistan, with the help of host China, had sought to remove any mention of Pahalgam massacre and instead wanted to add separatist activity in Balochistan.
Singh has exposed the hypocrisy of China and Pakistan on terror issue. Signing the joint statement would have amounted to diluting India’s consistent stand.
Singh said, India had been demanding that perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of terror acts, including cross-border terrorism, must be held accountable.
The Defence Minister said, India has made its position clear and our armed forces have destroyed the hideouts of the masterminds of the terrorists who had killed innocent tourists in Pahalgam.
Rajnath Singh’s speech was heard with rapt attention by Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Chinese Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun. It was Rajnath Singh’s first visit to China since Operation Sindoor.
The Defence Minister said, the killers identified the religion of each of the victims and then shot them in cold blood. This was a sin against humanity and The Resistance Front, an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba took responsibility for this heinous act, he added.
In Islamabad, Pakistan is openly flaunting its connections with home grown terrorists. Pakistan’s Information & Broadcasting Minister Ataullah Tarar attended the Sanobar think tank meet in Islamabad, which, among others, was also attended by Lashkar terrorist Qari Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh.
At the meeting, Qari claimed that all the buildings that were destroyed by India during Operation Sindoor have now been renovated.
What Rajnath Singh did at the SCO meet in China clearly reflects the power of New India. He exposed Pakistan’s support to terror and China’s cunningness while drafting the joint statement.
China had hoped India would not raise the Pahalgam issue and remain silent, but Rajnath Singh did not bother about diplomatic niceties. He showed the mirror to the leaders of both China and Pakistan. Rajnath Singh neither shook hands with the Pakistani defence minister nor did he look at him. Khawaza Asif looked stunned.
India has now decided to expose Pakistan’s terror activity at every international forum. There will be no question of showing diplomatic niceties to Pakistan on the issue of terrorism. India has made it clear any future terrorist act by Pakistan shall be considered as an act of war. Rajnath Singh has conveyed this message clearly to the rest of the world.
What is Bengal BJP’s problem with Jagannath Temple in Digha?
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee joined thousands of devotees at the Rath Yatra festival in Digha on Friday. The Rath Yatra began from the new Jagannath temple built at a cost of Rs 250 crore.
Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar described this as a “political drama”. He said, Mamata’s government was busy in Muslim appeasement for the last 14 years, but with state assembly elections due next year, she is now trying to attract Hindu voters.
Majumdar pointed out that in the recent Kaliganj assembly byelection, BJP got 74 per cent of Hindu votes. Another BJP leader Agnimitra Paul said, Mamata’s partymen are now sending Jagannath prasad to the homes of voters.
Replying to this, Mamata’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee said, BJP had been harping on Hindutva theme for the last several decades, but by opposing the Jagannath temple, the party now stands exposed.
What is the problem with state BJP, if Mamata Banerjee builds a Jagannath temple in Bengal? What is wrong in Mamata taking out a Jagannath Yatra? Why should BJP object if Jagannath prasad is being sent to the homes of commoners. What harm will be done by this to Hindu dharma?
I think BJP leaders in Bengal are committing a mistake by opposing the Jagannath temple in Bengal. They are willy-nilly being caught in Mamata’s political trap.
If BJP leaders continue to criticize, Mamata Banerjee will get an easy handle to tell the people that BJP is insulting Lord Jagannath. She will tell the people that BJP has nothing to do with Lord Jagannath or the temple, and its sole aim is to oppose Mamata. The winners will be the people who will be getting Jagannath prasad sitting in their homes.
Rajnath Singh on Pak: ‘UN is asking a cat to guard milk’
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday urged the international community to stop the flow of foreign funds to Pakistan. At an event in Dehradun, Singh described Pakistan as a “nursery of terrorism” that should not be fed.
The minister also expressed shock over the recent decision of the UN Security Council to name Pakistan as the vice-president of the Counter-Terrorism Committee. He said, such a decision raises questions about the seriousness of the United Nations in dealing with the scourge of terrorism.
“This Counter-Terrorism Committee was set up after the 9/11 terror attacks by Al Qaeda in the US. Pakistan had sheltered the mastermind of 9/11 attacks. This decision is similar to the proverb about asking a cat to guard the milk. Nothing can be more unfortunate”, Singh said.
The Defence Minister reminded the world community that Pakistan is a country where terror masterminds like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar are allowed to roam freely and to spew poison to recruit terrorists. He said, it is in Pakistan that the army generals openly attend the funeral of terrorists killed in Operation Sindoor and offer “fateha” (prayer). “This is nothing but a cruel joke”, Singh said.
Interestingly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government on Tuesday hiked the country’s defence budget by 20 per cent. At a time when most of the money allocated in Pakistan’s budget goes towards repayment of debt, which amounts to nearly 70 per cent of its GDP, Pakistan government has decided to spend more on defence.
This is happening at a time when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif himself is saying that his country is going around the world begging for funds. This decision is surely going to cause concern in the minds of Pakistanis. One must remember what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said recently. He said, ‘the youths of Pakistan will have to decide whether they want development or a government or army that wants to promote terrorism’.
All-party global outreach by India : A job well done
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hosted a get-together for the seven all-party delegations that visited 33 world capitals post-Operation Sindoor. Modi thanked the MPs and said, “we are all proud of the manner in which they put forward India’s voice.”
The all-party delegations included MPs from BJP, Congress, Trinamool Congress, Janata Dal(United), Telugu Desam Party, DMK, Shiv Sena, CPI-M and NCP. Among the MPs were Shashi Tharoor, Anand Sharma and Manish Tewari from Congress, Abhishek Banerjee from Trinamool Congress, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi from DMK and Supriya Sule from NCP(SP). AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi was part of the delegation, but he could not attend because he had to travel to Dubai for a medical emergency.
The MPs briefed the Prime Minister on their interactions with foreign leaders, lawmakers, and opinion-makers. They shared how India’s position on the need to combat terrorism was received by leaders of different countries.
There are two distinct advantages from this global outreach by India.
Firstly, the world listened to India’s stand on the issue of combating cross-border terrorism. Three points were conveyed to world leaders: (1) Pakistan has become a factory of terrorism , (2) India had no option left but to strike deep inside Pakistan on terror hideouts, (3) The limits of patience have now crossed and India shall no more countenance terror attacks from across the border. If Pakistan carries out another Pahalgam-type mischief, the Indian response will be drastic as most of Pakistan is now within range of our missiles.
Secondly, the other advantage that accrued from this global outreach was, all political parties in India stood united on the issue of Pakistan’s terror attacks. They projected a united face before the world. Of course, there were some losses for Congress. While its leaders who were part of the delegations, spoke in the national interest, the party leadership tried to look out for political gains and losses from this outreach. The result: Congress stood isolated and the party leadership sidelined its own leaders.
Why Rajnath Singh said, Navy could have broken Pakistan into four
Aboard the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, while addressing naval warriors on Friday, said, “During 1971 war, when Indian Navy came into action, Pakistan was divided into two. If Indian Navy had come into action during Operation Sindoor, I think, Pakistan would have been split into four parts by now.” He was underlining the formidable strength of Indian Navy.
Rajnath Singh said, “During Operation Sindoor, Indian Navy impressed everyone with its silent service..Pakistan did not have to face the firepower of Indian Navy, but now the world knows, if Pakistan commits any fresh heinous act this time, it may be possible that our Navy will do the opening”.
The Defence Minister said, “on one hand, the Indian Navy is always as calm as the ocean, but if any situation arises, it has the capability to bring about a tsunami in the ocean”.
Rajnath Singh said, “if Pakistan sincerely wants to begin talks, it should first hand over terror masterminds like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar to India, so that justice can be done.”
Let me explain why Rajnath Singh said, Pakistan hurriedly pleaded for ceasefire because it was afraid of our navy.
On May 7, when India launched Operation Sindoor, it was carried out by our army and air force, but few people know that the Indian Navy had a key role in the operation. A formidable naval task force led by INS Vikrant along with destroyers, frigates, submarines and fighter jets were deployed in Arabian Sea close to the Pakistani coast. Seeing the huge flotilla of the Indian Navy, Pakistan’s navy could not summon up the courage to come out of the ports to take up combat position.
The Indian Navy began its drill with surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles in Arabian Sea within 96 hours of the Pahalgam attack, in a clear display of its intent to Pakistan.
The Defence Minister chose INS Vikrant to give a powerful message to Pakistan. INS Vikrant is the symbol of India’s naval prowess. It is our first indigenously built aircraft carrier which can carry more than 30 aircraft. The other operational aircraft carrier is INS Vikramaditya. India stands eighth, while Pakistan stands 32nd in the list of 145 countries in Global Fire Power Index-2024.
Rajnath Singh is right when he says that the Indian Navy was ready to strike during Operation Sindoor. Its MiG fighters were ready, but before the action was to commence, Pakistan’s DGMO rang up seeking a ceasefire.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is on record of having said that his armed forces had planned to attack India at 4:30 am, but soon after midnight, India launched its BrahMos missiles and damaged Pakistan’s air bases. This forced the Pakistan army to call for cessation of firing and military action.
Pakistan’s nuclear blackmail will not work
The chairman of Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza has said, he fears that if India continued to keep the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, it may become an existential threat for Pakistan which can led to nuclear conflict.
In an interview to a news agency, Gen Mirza admitted that Pakistan army was caught unawares when India struck deep into its heartland. He said, “the risk of escalation in future has increased since the fighting this time was not limited to the disputed territory (Kashmir).. In future, it will not be restricted to the disputed territory, it would come down to the whole of India and the whole of Pakistan.”
In Tajikistan, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, if India stopped the flow of Indus river, “which is the lifeline of Pakistan, then there will be a real war”.
In Kanpur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, India will not be deterred by threats of nuclear war and there will be no talks on Indus Waters Treaty, till Pakistan stops sponsoring terrorism. Modi said, “Pakistan must not remain under any illusion, because Operation Sindoor is not yet over. It will have to pay a heavy price if another attack takes place.”
Modi said, “Operation Sindoor is only one arrow in the quiver and if Pakistan does not stop terrorism, India will take a bigger action to crush the hood of terrorist snake. India has finally resolved not to spare terrorists and their sponsors”.
In Vadodara, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said, all terror camps inside Pakistan are now “legitimate targets for India”. He said, “we will never give in to nuclear blackmail and whatever decisions are to be taken in national interest will continue to be taken.”
Listening to the remarks from all sides, some points are clear.
One, Pakistan’s nuclear threat does not carry any weight. Nuclear blackmail will not work. All nuclear installations in Pakistan are within range of Indian missiles.
Two, Pakistan is worried over the suspension of Indus Waters Treaty. It has become a matter of survival for that country, but India’s stand is clear. Unless Pakistan closes down its terror factories, there will be no leniency. Three, Operation Sindoor was a trailer. Picture Abhi Baaki Hai. This time, Pakistan had pleaded for ceasefire, but next time, nobody will listen to its pleas. If Pakistan commits any major act, it will have to face retaliation from India.