Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, April 24
India will wipe out the remaining (bachi khuchi) land of terrorism, a visibly angry Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a veiled threat to Pakistan.
Modi made his first reaction in a public meeting at 200 km north from here on Thursday. This was his first visit outside the national capital following April 22 terror attack on tourists at Pahalgam in Kashmir.
He spoke briefly in English and admitted he was addressing to the ” whole world’.
The Prime Minister, who asked the gathering to have two minutes silence to pay homage to the 27 people who were gunned down on Tuesday, warned: “The terrorists and their abettors will receive punishment beyond their imagination.”
Modi said he wanted the world to know that India would identify and punish every terrorist. Modi, in a rare English-speaking gesture, said those behind the Pahalgam terror attack and those part of the conspiracy will be punished beyond their imagination.
“Today, from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world India will identify, track, and punish every terrorist and their backers,” Modi said in English, addressing the gathering in Madhubani in poll-bound Bihar.
Bihar is going to have assembly elections later this year. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar was also present on the occasion apart from Arif Mohammad Khan, the state’s governor and other dignitaries from state and the centre.
“Terrorism will not go unpunished. Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done. The entire nation is firm in this resolve,” Modi said. His words in English were then tweeted by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)
Modi usually addresses public rallies in Hindi, but he used his promise to punish those behind the Pahalgam attack in English, perhaps to address a wider global audience.
Everyone who believes in humanity is with us, the PM said. “I thank the people of various countries and their leaders who have stood with is in these times,” he said.
The rest of PM’s speech was in Hindi.
Modi addressed panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and gram sabhas across the country at an event at Bihar’s Madhubani today, April 24. Before the address, the prime minister launched several projects worth approximately ₹13,500 crore.
The event organised on the National Panchayati Raj Day marking 32 years of the 73rd Constitutional (Amendment) Act, 1992, which gave constitutional status to panchayats as institutions of rural local self-government.
