Second Speech in 24 Hours, Modi Invokes Religious Figures But No Mention of Trump Mediation Claims

New Delhi: After breaking his silence on Operation Sindoor on Monday (May 12), Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his second speech in 24 hours while addressing Indian Air Force personnel at the Adampur air base on Tuesday (May 13).

Modi invoked Buddha and Guru Gobind Singh and said that it is India’s tradition to take up arms to protect “our dharma” and used his oft-repeated line against terrorism, “ghar mein ghus ke marenge (we will destroy them in their homes)".

While the opposition has demanded that Modi and his government come on record on how the ceasefire was negotiated, including whether there was a threat to cut off trade with the US as Trump had claimed, the prime minister did not address any of this in his speech on Tuesday.

“Operation Sindoor was not an ordinary mission. It was a display of India's intent, policy and decisiveness. India is the land of Buddha as well as Guru Gobind Singh ji. Guru Gobind Singh had said that 'Sava lakh se ek lada hu, Chidian te mai baaj tudau, Tabey Guru Gobind Singh naam kahau'. Taking up arms for the establishment of our dharma is our tradition,” Modi said.

“This is why, when our sisters and daughters' sindoor (vermillion) was snatched, we entered terrorists' bunkers and destroyed them. (Ghar mein ghus ke kuchal diya.) They hid like cowards but forgot that those who they had provoked were India's soldiers. You attacked them while facing them and destroyed them. You destroyed terrorists hubs and destroyed nine terror locations. Over 100 terrorists were killed. Casting an evil eye on India will only mean their destruction.”

In his first address since Operation Sindoor-when Indian military conducted strikes on nine targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir on May 7, Modi said on Monday that India had inflicted so much damage on Pakistan’s air bases and military establishments that its DGMO, on the afternoon of May 10, “desperately” called his Indian counterpart to ensure the Indian military would not take further action.

The four-day long tense military standoff with Pakistan, which included drones and missile strikes, ended on Saturday after US President Donald Trump announced that he had mediated a ceasefire agreement. While Modi did not make any mention of Trump and US secretary of state Marco Rubio’s claims of a mediation on the ceasefire and talks taking place between the two countries at a neutral location, the US president in another statement on Monday said that the ceasefire was agreed upon after he threatened to cut off trade with the two countries.

In his speech on Tuesday, Modi made no mention of Trump’s claims, made on the day before and on Saturday, where he had said that he had mediated a ceasefire. Modi lauded the armed forces and said that the Indian military had made “[the] Pakistani army bite the dust and shown them their place.”

"The Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy have defeated the Pakistani army. We gave them a message that there is no place in Pakistan where the terrorists could live peacefully," he said.

Earlier, the Pakistani army had claimed that its missiles had hit the Adampur air base and destroyed the S400 air defence systems. Modi stood in the background of an S400, he praised the indigenous Akash missile and said that a “strong defence cover” had become India’s identity.

"Besides manpower, the coordination of machines in Operation Sindoor was also fantastic. Be it India's traditional air defence system which has witnessed several battles or our Made in India platforms like Akash – all of these have been given unprecedented strength and modern and capable defence systems like S-400. A strong defence cover has become the identity of India,” he said.

"Despite all the attempts of Pakistan, be it our air base or other defence infrastructure – all of these were not impacted at all. The credit goes to all of you," Modi said.

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