The Congress may be keeping count of the number of times US President Donald Trump has claimed to have stopped the four-day India-Pakistan war in May this year but one person has consistently praised Prime Minister Modi and the government on Operation Sindoor --- Chief of Army Staff General Uprendra Dwivedi.
On Saturday, General Dwivedi hailed India’s political leadership for the “decisive victory” over Pakistan in Operation Sindoor that began with precision strikes by Indian defence forces against terror camps running from well inside Pakistani territory.
“I will come to the third ‘C.’ The third ‘C’ is clarity. This time the thinking of our political leadership was clear, there was complete clarity. They gave us a free hand. When the prime minister gives a free hand… this has never before happened in history,” General Dwivedi told students and teachers at the TRS College in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa, as seen in a video clip shared by the news agency ANI.
He also reportedly said PM Modi gave the name Operation Sindoor.
"The name ‘Sindoor’ connects deeply with Indian culture,” he was quoted as saying. “Whenever a mother, sister, or daughter applies sindoor, their gestures symbolise prayers for the soldier standing guard at the nation’s border.”
Although high-ranking military personnel commenting on politicians is rare in India, there have been at least three other occasions when General Dwivedi has used the pulpit at a public event to praise the government or included the same keywords in his speeches that Indians are more accustomed to hear from their prime minister.
On 9 September, at a national management convention, General Dwivedi said: “The goalposts will keep changing. If I wanted something to fire at 100 kilometres, tomorrow it has to go to 300 kilometres. Because it is not only me, the adversary is also enhancing his technology. As his technology is enhancing, I need to make sure that my technological level is ready to beat its technological impact. Here Atmanirbharata becomes important.”
On 2 August, for the inauguration of ‘Agnishodh’, the Indian Army Research Cell at at IIT Madras, General Dwivedi said: “What happened on 22 April in Pahalgam shocked the nation. On the 23rd, the next day itself, we all sat down. This was the first time that RM [defence minister Rajnath Singh] said, ‘Enough is enough’All three chiefs were very clear that something had to be done. The free hand was given, ‘You decide what is to be done.’ That is the kind of confidence, political direction and political clarity we saw for the first time. That raises your morale.”
On 26 July, on the occasion of Kargil Diwas, General Dwivedi told assembled army officers and jawans in Dras, Kashmir: “The faith shown by the countrymen and the free hand given by the government, the Indian Army gave a befitting surgical response. Any power that tries to challenge the unity, integrity, and sovereignty of India or harm the people will be given a befitting reply. This is the new normal of India.”
