Operation Sindoor delivered a strong message on security: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday (July 17, 2025) that India had sent an “unambiguous” message to the world that any attempt to harm its citizens would invite retaliation. “In contrast, the country faced terror attacks almost every day during Congress rule,” he said.

Mr. Shah, who also holds the Cooperative portfolio in the Union Cabinet, was addressing a cooperative and employment festival, marking International Cooperatives Year-2025, at Dadiya village near Jaipur. He referred to Operation Sindoor, affirming that it had eliminated terrorists based in Pakistan.

“When the Uri attack occurred, [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi took decisive action by carrying out the surgical strike. After the Pulwama attack, an airstrike was ordered. After the attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor was sanctioned, which targeted terrorists across the border,” Mr. Shah said.

Fourth largest economy

Mr. Shah said the country had become the fourth largest economy under Mr. Modi’s leadership, while 22 crore people had been lifted above the poverty line. The vision of a “prosperous and secure nation” had been turned into a reality under the present dispensation, he added.

Meanwhile, veteran Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday asked Mr. Shah to clarify why the trial in Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal’s murder case was not making headway after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the matter. Two cleaver-wielding men had murdered Mr. Lal in June 2022, when Mr. Gehlot was the CM.

Mr. Gehlot said at a press conference here, ahead of Mr. Shah’s address at the event, that though the State police had apprehended the accused within four hours of the incident, NIA took over the case overnight. “Three years later, even the statements [of witnesses] have not been recorded in the court,” he said.

CM Sharma praised

Mr. Shah praised Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma for launching public welfare and development works and said the BJP government in the State had taken strong action against paper leaks in recruitment exams by forming a Special Investigation Team.

He also pointed to the cooperative sector’s contribution to development and said it was playing an active role in 98% of rural areas. The Ministry of Cooperation had launched 61 initiatives in the last four years to strengthen the sector, he said.

Mr. Shah flagged off 100 new police vehicles, visited an exhibition of cooperative products, and distributed appointment letters to youths selected for government jobs. He also virtually inaugurated 24 food grain storage warehouses and 64 millet outlets on the occasion.

Besides the CM Mr. Sharma, Union Minister of Culture & Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Deputy CMs Prem Chand Bairwa and Diya Kumari, and former CM Vasundhara Raje were also present.