No leader of any country asked India to stop Op Sindoor: Modi

Responding to the two-day debate on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha, the prime minister said Pakistani airbases hit by India 'are still in ICU' and the masterminds of the April 22 terror attack are still having sleepless nights.

New Delhi: Lauding Operation Sindoor, the precision strikes carried out by the Indian armed forces deep inside Pakistan, in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attacks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told the Lok Sabha that the decision on cessation of action on the western front after hitting identified terror targets was not influenced by any “leader anywhere in the world".

“No leader anywhere in the world asked India to stop its operation,” Modi said, responding to the marathon debate during which the opposition repeatedly asked why the US President announced the “ceasefire” and his subsequent statements, claiming credit for ending the May hostilities between India and Pakistan.

Modi told the LS that US Vice-President JD Vance did try to reach him on the night of May 9.

“When I called back, he warned of a major Pakistani attack. I replied, If that’s their plan, they’ll pay dearly,” Modi said in a detailed reply in the lower House that lasted almost 2 hours.

PM reiterated that the action ended on May 10, only when the Pakistan Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) called his Indian counterpart seeking an end to military action after having taken “enough hits".

The prime minister also said that Operation Sindoor has not stopped. “I want to repeat this in this temple of democracy – Operation Sindoor is going on, if Pakistan crosses the line again, we will resume it,” Modi said.

He added, India, by hitting strategic targets inside Pakistan, made its intent clear and called “Pakistan’s nuclear bluff", even as a section of the Pakistani establishment, anticipating India’s response, sought to use the nuclear bogey as a deterrent.

“We showed the world that we will not be cowed down by nuclear blackmail,” Modi said.

Defending his government’s foreign policy that came under a sharp attack during the debate, PM stated that out of 193 nations in the United Nations, only three spoke in favour of Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. “The rest stood firmly with India…The revenge for April 22 was taken within just 22 minutes. Indian forces destroyed terrorist camps in Pakistan that no one ever imagined we would reach.”

Training his guns on the opposition, especially Congress, Modi lamented that the “Congress did not support the valour of our soldiers".

“Congress leaders targeted me for political gains, but their frivolous statements ended up discouraging our brave soldiers,” he said.

“The Congress and its allies have, unfortunately, become spokespersons of Pakistani propaganda. India is becoming self-reliant, but Congress is now dependent on Pakistan for issues. The entire country is amazed to see Congress give a clean chit to Pakistan and sing the same tune as theirs,” Modi said.

He also took a dig at Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, who had questioned the timing of the encounter carried out by the security forces on Monday to eliminate terrorists linked to the Pahalgam attacks.

"For the past many weeks, there were questions like 'what about Pahalgam terrorists', but now, they are questioning the timing of the operation. Was the operation planned to coincide with sawan ka somvaar?" Modi asked.

Modi heaped allegations on the Congress and said that during Nehru’s tenure, at Poonch, ministers decided to give away Neelam Valley and Kishanganga. “They kept asking us about not taking back PoK…but who gave it away in the first place. In 1971, we captured 93,000 Pakistani soldiers and a 1,000 sq km area of Pakistan. With more vision, PoK could have been reclaimed then,” Modi asked.

He also mentioned the Indus Water Treaty and said that Congress pledged India’s interest to Pakistan. “Without the Indus Water Treaty, western India would have had major projects, farmers would get water, drinking water issues would ease, and India could produce more electricity,” Modi said. He also took a swipe at Congress and, in a reference to Shashi Tharoor, said that some leaders are now barred from speaking their mind.