PM Narendra Modi (ANI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi , who returned from his US trip to an enthusiastic welcome organised by BJP, recalled the surgical strike India carried out inside Pakistan-controlled territory exactly three years ago to avenge the ISI-engineered terror attack on an Army camp in Uri.

“Today is September 28 and it was exactly three years ago when I could not sleep for whole night. I stayed awake entire night waiting for the phone to ring. Three years ago it was on this day, our brave soldiers wrote a golden chapter of their bravery. After successful surgical strikes, they demonstrated power of India. Recalling that night, I salute the great soldiers of our country,” he said.

His remarks came a day after Pakistan PM Imran Khan , in a bellicose speech at the UNGA, fulminated against the Modi government’s decision to end special status for J&K, and held out dire warnings of “bloodbath” in the state, terror attacks and communal strife across India and a nuclear conflagration.

The “ surgical strike” marked the advent of a tougher posture towards the hostile neighbour, marking the end of “strategic restraint” where the fear of use of nuclear arms by Pakistan forced India to circumscribe its response to terror attacks planned across the border. The Modi government followed the 2016 raid on terror camps across the LoC by sending IAF fighter jets to attack Jaish-e-Mohammad’s terror camp in Pakistan’s Balakot in February this year.

In his speech, Modi said BJP’s return to power with a bigger mandate has enhanced India’s stature resulting in greater acceptance for India’s position. “This all because of you,” Modi told cheering crowds who had gathered at the airport to fete the PM for the “diplomatic win over Pakistan” at the UN. The crowds and lusty cheers were ample indication that the end of special status of J&K and tough line towards Pakistan will be big themes of BJP’s campaign in Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections.

Welcoming Modi, BJP chief and home minister Amit Shah said, “I join millions of Indians in welcoming PM Narendra Modi after a historic US visit, which has given India a new aura on the world stage. His leadership is a beacon of hope.”

While Shah was not in Delhi, BJP working president J P Nadda led the party leaders to receive Modi at the airport. Lok Sabha MPs from Delhi were also present.

The PM said the world’s view towards India has changed immensely in the past five years as the country’s acceptance and respect has gone high, which he attributed to the grand mandate his party received in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

“After winning polls, I had gone to the United Nations and America in 2014 and went again in 2019. I could sense the difference as respect for India in the entire world has increased. One principal reason behind this change of the world view towards India are the 130 crore Indians, who chose the government with more emphatic mandate,” he said.

The PM said the presence of US President Donald Trump at the “Howdy Modi” event and the way the entire event was perceived globally demonstrated an unprecedented show of strength. “There were Democrats, Republicans at the Howdy Modi event. But when I met the world leaders at the UN, most of them greeted me with ‘Howdy Modi’, which reflected that India’s power has increased globally,” he said.



In Video: Respect for India has increased significantly since 2014: PM Modi