On the 11th anniversary of assuming office as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi marked the occasion with a high-decibel rally in Gujarat’s Dahod, where infrastructure announcements merged with sharp political rhetoric.
But what stole the limelight was Colonel Sofiya Qureshi’s family meeting Narendra Modi and showering him with flower petals. Qureshi had taken part in media briefings during Operation Sindoor.
In his speech later at Dahod, Modi invoked Operation Sindoor with a veiled warning to those who harm Indian women. “If anyone dares to remove the sindoor of our sisters, then their end is near,” he said, drawing loud applause from the crowd.
From launching development projects worth Rs 24,000 crore to slamming Pakistan, and invoking Operation Sindoor to asserting India's economic vision, Modi's rally offered a blend of policy and polemics.
“Today is May 26; I became Prime Minister for the first time on this day in 2014,” Modi reminded the crowd, using the anniversary to project the “new India” rooted in self-reliance, national security and inclusive growth.
The centrepiece of the visit was the inauguration of a state-of-the-art electric locomotive manufacturing facility in Dahod. The plant, part of Indian Railways’ larger modernisation push, will produce 9,000 horsepower engines equipped with regenerative braking, that can be key to reducing the railways' carbon footprint.
PM Modi also flagged off the Ahmedabad-Veraval Vande Bharat Express and a new Valsad-Dahod express train, taking the number of operational Vande Bharat routes to 70.
"Our government's policy is to take development to areas that have remained backward," he said, positioning Dahod, which is a tribal-majority region, as a future engine of industrial progress.
The newly inaugurated projects form part of a Rs 24,000 crore infrastructure package for Gujarat, including state and central government initiatives.
But Modi’s speech wasn’t limited to development. He took aim at Pakistan, declaring that “the country that came into existence after Partition lives on hatred for India”.
Referring to Pakistan’s “only aim” as being “enmity with India and the urge to harm Bharat”, he set a confrontational tone ahead of the general elections.
In a charged moment, Modi hailed Operation Sindoor with a veiled warning to those who harm Indian women. “If anyone dares to remove the sindoor of our sisters, then their end is near,” he said, drawing loud applause from the crowd.
Tying the strands together, the Prime Minister reaffirmed his long-term economic vision. “India's goals are to remove poverty, bring about economic development and become a developed nation”.
“Everything we need for our country's progress must be made right here in India,” he declared.