Operation Sindoor continued to course through Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio address and a meeting of NDA chief ministers on Sunday, the ruling dispensation seeking to squeeze the last ounce of political advantage out of the military operation.
Modi’s Mann Ki Baat address — broadcast simultaneously on YouTube in video format with still images and Modi’s voiceover — showed satellite pictures of Pakistani terror hubs destroyed by India’s strikes.
“Operation Sindoor is not just a military mission; it is a picture of our resolve, courage and a transforming India,” the voiceover said.
At the meeting of NDA chief ministers later in the day, a resolution was passed congratulating the Prime Minister on Operation Sindoor, and stressing that the military offensive had proved that “whoever challenges us will be reduced to dust”.
Modi and his party have pulled out the stops to project the military operation as a personal and political triumph for the Prime Minister, seeking to silence any questions raised by the Opposition by accusing it of “speaking the language of Pakistan”.
“Just three days ago, Modiji had said: ‘Modi doesn’t have blood in his veins, but hot vermilion (sindoor) flows through them’,” said the NDA chief ministers’ resolution, moved by Maharashtra deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde.
“Modiji, the 1.4 billion citizens of this country are proud of you. It is the good fortune of our countrymen that we have a brave, mighty, and selfless patriot as our Prime Minister,” the resolution added.
In the radio address, Modi said that many parents had named their newborns “Sindoor”.
“Operation Sindoor has influenced the people of the country so much that many families have made it a part of their lives. In Katihar in Bihar, Kushinagar in UP, and many other cities, children born during that period have been named ‘Sindoor’,” he said.
Modi said that many Indian families had pledged to spend their holidays in India in recognition of “vocal for local”.
He, however, did not directly echo the calls being made to Indian tourists to boycott countries like Turkey and Azerbaijan that had sided with Pakistan during the recent conflict.
“Many young persons have taken a pledge to ‘Wed in India’ — that they would get married in the country itself. Someone also said, ‘Now whatever gift we will give, it will be made by an Indian artisan’,” Modi said.
He lauded the role played by India-made weapons in the war against terrorism.
The resolution adopted at the NDA chief ministers’ meeting expressed gratitude to Modi for his “unparalleled and valiant leadership” in overcoming serious security challenges.
