 "Amit Shah speaking at BJP National Meeting in Kozhikode")
Until Saturday evening, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Council meeting was meant to pass only a political resolution to highlight Narendra Modi government’s pro-poor initiatives. But lukewarm feedback to the PM’s speech on Saturday, where he talked of waging a war with Pakistan but to end poverty, forced party leadership to bring about an aggressive resolution on the Uri terror attack.
Today, BJP President Amit Shah moved a resolution that appealed to people of India and political parties to support the government in this “decisive battle” against Pakistan sponsored terrorism.
If Modi gave the impression that his government would isolate Pakistan diplomatically and outcompete its neighbour economically, the party president moved a resolution that remained very evidently open ended about a military solution to Pakistan nursed and sponsored terrorism. Shah’s statement suggested that the PM’s speech, contrary to the party’s expectations, had failed to whet the emotional appetite of the nation on the Uri terror attack.
In the event, the draft political resolution released by the party turend out to be insipid, while that moved by Shah drew all the attention. Unlike Modi’s balanced speech on the Kozhikode beachfront, Shah was less restrained with his words. He said the country was committed to give a “befitting reply” to Pakistan sponsored terrorism.
Shah said it was no less than a “war crime” if a country pursued nursing and sponsoring terrorism, as Pakistan does, as its state policy. He said India has been a victim of this, and that Islamabad fuelled the recent extremist protests in Jammu and Kashmir. He said the world is surprised that Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif described a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, a reference to Burhan Wani, as a freedom fighter, and that this was evidence enough of Pakistan’s role in Kashmir.
Shah said the BJP supported Modi government’s diplomatic efforts to isolate Pakistan, but much of his statement was on the military aspect of countering Pakistan sponsored terrorism. He said 117 terrorists have been killed by our security forces in the last eight months and 17 attempts to cross the Line of Control frustrated, and Uri was a result of the bravery exhibited by the soldiers.
In today's edition of his monthly broadcast ‘Mann ki Baat’, the PM reiterated what he had said about Uri at his public rally on Saturday on the Kozhikode beachfront. He said there was much anger in the country about the Uri terror attack.
