Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday attacked the Congress claiming that the country’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru held back Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel from fully integrating Kashmir into the Indian Union. He was addressing a celebration on the occasion of Sardar Patel’s 150th birth anniversary at the Statue of Unity in Ekta Nagar.
The PM further referenced Operation Sindoor declaring the world has witnessed that India will strike within enemy territory if challenged, underscoring that this is the India of the Iron Man, Sardar Patel. He also raised the issue of infiltrators, calling them a grave threat to national unity and the demographic balance.
The PM’s address focused heavily on national unity and security, infiltration of illegal immigrants, contrasting the steely resolve of Patel with the approach of post-Independence Governments, which he accused of adopting spineless policies.
“The Congress forgot Sardar Patel’s vision, but we have not,” he told the gathering. Modi blamed infiltration for disrupting India’s demographic balance, and said for the first time the country has decided to have a decisive fight against this threat and will remove each and every infiltrator from its soil.
Extending his critique beyond Kashmir, Modi regretted that successive post-Patel Governments “did not demonstrate the same seriousness towards national sovereignty,” pointing to challenges in the Northeast and the spread of Naxalism.
He drew a direct contrast between the past and his Government’s tenure, asserting after 2014, the nation “once again witnessed a steely resolve inspired by Sardar Patel.”
“Today, Kashmir has broken free from the shackles of Article 370 and is fully integrated into the mainstream,” the Prime Minister said adding, this move has made “Pakistan and the masterminds of terrorism” realise “the true strength of India.”
On infiltration, he accused previous Governments of prioritising “vote-bank politics” over national security by ignoring this issue and affirmed the country’s resolve to fight this threat.
The PM said when the Government was seriously addressing the issue, “some people are prioritising their own interests over the national interest” and fighting for rights of illegal immigrants.
“They think that if the country has been broken once, it can continue to be broken again and again, and it doesn’t bother them,” he stated, adding the truth is that if the security and identity of the country are threatened, every citizen will be at risk.
“Therefore, today, on National Unity Day, we must reaffirm our resolve. We will ensure that every illegal immigrant living in India is expelled,” said the PM.
