India’s three festering wounds were healed under the leadership of Modi : Amit Shah
Shah asserted that the wounds comprised the Kashmir militancy, the Naxalite problem and the insurgency in the Northeast
New Delhi: Blazing all guns, home minister Amit Shah amplified the nationalist narrative in Parliament on Friday, declaring that India’s three “festering wounds” were healed under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he took over the reins of the country in 2014.
Addressing the Rajya Sabha on the functioning of the home ministry, Mr Shah asserted that the wounds comprised the Kashmir militancy, the Naxalite problem and the insurgency in the Northeast. He pointed out the stark contrast between the past and present approaches to terrorism. “Earlier processions were taken out in support of slain terrorists. Today we bury them where they fall”, Mr Shah declared.
“I want to pay tribute to all police personnel who sacrificed their lives for the safety and security of the people. Thanks to their immense sacrifice, India is now poised to play an important role in global affairs, a position we’ve been working toward for over 76 years. My heartfelt gratitude goes to the families of these brave officers for their unwavering service,” he said.
Highlighting the legacy issues faced by the country before Mr Modi’s tenure, Mr Shah noted that problems such as terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, left-wing extremism and Northeast insurgencies had hindered India’s progress.
“These issues were holding back India’s potential for peace and development. But under PM Modi, we have eradicated these obstacles,” Mr Shah asserted.
Speaking on Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Shah emphasised the drastic shift in approach since the Modi government took charge. He recalled the time when terrorist attacks on civilians were a daily occurrence, particularly during religious festivals.
“Previously, the Central government used to maintain silence, fearing a political backlash. But under PM Modi, we adopted a ‘zero tolerance’ policy toward terrorism,” he said.
He pointed to the surgical strikes and airstrikes, carried out shortly after the Pulwama attack in 2019, as examples of India’s newfound assertiveness in countering terrorism. He also went on to claim that “left-wing extremism will end by March 31, 2026”.
He attacked the Opposition parties in the Upper House for raking up the language row, saying they were doing so to gain political mileage and hide their corruption.
Expressing his party’s commitment to promoting Indian languages, he said that after December, he will do all correspondence with chief ministers, MPs and ordinary people in their respective languages.
Without naming any party or individual, Mr Shah said: “Those who are spreading poison in the name of language prefer a foreign language and not an Indian language. Tamil youths can work in Gujarat, Kashmir, Delhi... You have been elected to Parliament, what kind of a system do you want?”
“Those who take shelter behind the language issue to hide their corruption, this is a strong reply to them,” Mr Shah said.
He also said there have been enough divisions in the nation in the name of language and it should not happen any longer as Hindi was not in competition with other languages but a friend of those.
“Some parties are raking up the language issue for their own politics. They are doing it just to hide their corruption,” he said while replying to the debate in the Rajya Sabha on the working of the home ministry.
The DMK-led Tamil Nadu government and the Centre have been at loggerheads over the implementation of the new National Education Policy and the three-language formula proposed under it. “There have been enough divisions in the nation in the name of language, and it should not happen any longer,” he said, amid the escalating row over the three-language formula implementation outlined in the National Education Policy.
