New Delhi, Aug 15 (PTI) In a stern warning to Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India will not tolerate nuclear blackmail anymore and give a befitting reply to the enemy, while asserting that it has now set a “new normal” of not differentiating between terrorists and those who nurture terrorism.
Delivering his 12th consecutive Independence Day address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Modi said Operation Sindoor was a manifestation of the anger that the country was feeling over the Pahalgam terror attack in which terrorists from across the border carried out a gruesome massacre, killing people after asking their religion.
The prime minister also promised a big Diwali gift in form of next-generation GST reforms and said the taxes paid by people would reduce drastically, benefiting small industries and MSMEs.
In his address on India’s 79th Independence Day, Modi also announced the launch of a Rs 1 lakh crore scheme for the youth — the PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana. Under this scheme, those getting first job in private sector will get Rs 15,000 from the government.
He said that for a nation, the greatest test of self-respect is its self-reliance and stressed that the foundation of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ is also ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.
“Those who are dependent on others raise a question mark over their own freedom, and this happens even more when we get used to being dependent on others. That is why we must remain aware. Self-reliance is not limited to export and imports. It is also related to our capabilities. Therefore, to increase our capabilities, we must be self-reliant,” he asserted.
The PM said the country saw the wonders of ‘Made in India’ in Operation Sindoor.
Even the enemy was shocked at the kind of ammunition that was destroying them within seconds, Modi said.
“Had we not been self-reliant, would we be able to carry out Operation Sindoor at such a level? In the last 10 years, we set our target to become self-reliant in the defence sector, and today we are seeing the results,” Modi said.
The prime minister also asserted that now “blood and water will not flow together” and said people now know that the Indus Waters Treaty was “one-sided and unjust”.
Modi said India and its farmers have the sole right over the country’s share of Indus river waters. He said the treaty had caused enormous harm to agriculture in India.
It allowed allowed rivers from India to “irrigate the fields of our enemies, while the soil of my country remains thirsty”.
“The waters that belong to India will be used by India, for India’s farmers alone and we would no longer tolerate an arrangement that deprived its farmers,” he said.
Modi said India’s farmers had suffered “unimaginable losses” for the last seven decades under the agreement.
“India has endured this for decades. We will not endure it any further. In the interest of our farmers, in the interest of the nation, this agreement is unacceptable to us,” he said.
Talking about Operation Sindoor, Modi said that after the Pahalgam attack on April 22, the armed forces were given a free hand to decide on strategy, objective and timing and the armed forces did what had not been done for decades.
“Terror headquarters inside hundreds of kilometres inside enemy territory were destroyed. Terror infrastructure was turned to rubble. Pakistan is still having sleepless nights. The destruction there is so much that new revelations are coming to the fore,” he said.
Noting that the country has been suffering from terror for decades, Modi said India has now established a “new normal” of not differentiating between terrorists and those who nurture terrorism as they are both enemies of humanity.
“India has decided that it will not tolerate nuclear blackmail. For a long time, nuclear blackmail had been going on but this will not be tolerated now.” Modi asserted that enemies of the country will be given a befitting reply going forward.
“Today, there is a special importance of August 15. I feel proud that from the ramparts of the Red Fort, I got the opportunity to salute the braveheart soldiers of Operation Sindoor. Our bravehearts have given such a punishment to our enemies that they never imagined,” he said.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 in which 26 people, mostly terrorists, were killed.
The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10.
In his address, Modi also said India’s Constitution has been a guiding light, showing the way for the last 75 years.
Modi hailed the contribution of the likes of Rajendra Prasad, BR Ambedkar, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and S Radhakrishnan. The contribution of ‘nari shakti’ has been no less, the prime minister added.
“I pay tributes to the constitution makers.” Noting that SP Mookerjee’s 125th birth anniversary is being celebrated, the prime minister said, noting that Mookerjee had sacrificed greatly for the Constitution.
“By bringing down the wall of Article 370 we realised the mantra of ‘Ek Desh, Ek Samvidhan’ and paid tributes to Mookerjee.”
In his remarks, Modi also said the first made-in-India semiconductor chip will be launched in the market by the end of this year. He pointed out that six semiconductor units are already on ground and four new units have been given green signal.
Modi said India is rapidly working on 10 new nuclear reactors and has pledged to increase its nuclear energy capacity tenfold.
Earlier, the prime minister also paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat on the 79th Independence Day. The theme for this year’s celebrations is ‘Naya Bharat’.
