Terrorism contained to two and a half districts in J&K: Narendra Modi

Amreli, April 18

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said his government had managed to contain terrorism to only “two and a half” districts in Jammu and Kashmir and that no bomb blast took place elsewhere in the country in the last five years.

Addressing a poll rally at Amreli in Gujarat, Modi said what he learnt in Gujarat helped him during the long Doklam standoff with China in 2017.

Referring to various incidents of bomb blasts in the country previously, he said, “In the last five years no bomb blast took place in any other part of the country. We managed to contain terrorism to just two and a half districts in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

On Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statement of trying to approach India after the Balakot air strike, Modi said the leader “had to make a public plea to us to pick up the phone”.

Hitting out at the previous Congress-led governments in the country, he said had the Sardar Sarovar project been completed 40 years ago, Gujarat would have been much better.

In 2014, the Congress came to its lowest tally after Independence and in 2019, it is fighting on the lowest number of Lok Sabha seats but still “dreaming” of becoming the ruling party, he said.

Modi said the tallest statue of Sardar Patel built in Gujarat was not intended to disrespect late prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

“This is not an election rally for me, but a rally to say thanks to the people of Gujarat for the grooming I received here,” he said. PTI