In her address at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Convention on Saturday, January 12 Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that post-2014, the country had not witnessed any major terrorist attacks. She also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ensured that terrorists would not “disturb peace” of the nation, reported ANI.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at BJP National Convention in Delhi: We have not had one major terrorist attack in this country after 2014. This govt under the leadership of PM Modi has ensured one thing that there shall not be an opportunity for terrorists to disturb peace. pic.twitter.com/qWehbpZkFd
— ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2019
But is this statements really true? Not really, as India has faced terror attacks several times since the Modi-led BJP stormed to power in the 2014 general elections. Here is a non-exhaustive list of some of these attacks as well as the Prime Minister’s statements that followed.
1. Gurdaspur: In July 2015, three terrorists attacked the town of Dina Nagar in Gurdaspur, Punjab killing seven people, including a Superintendent of Police (SP). The town’s proximity to Jammu and Kashmir heightened the spectre of worry following the attack.
2. Pathankot: In January 2016, suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists struck an air force base in Pathankot, Punjab. The pre-dawn attack caught everyone by surprise, and killed three security personnel. Four terrorists were also gunned down in the attack. Condemning the attack, Modi had said, “…enemies of humanity who can’t see India progress tried to strike at our strategic area, a prominent airbase at Pathankot. I appreciate our armed forces and thank them for foiling our enemy’s attempt.”
In an embarrassing move, the BJP government went on to invite the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) officials to the air-base to probe the attack, adding insult to the country’s injury.
3. Kokrajhar: In August 2016, militants reportedly associated with the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit), NDFB (S) killed 14 unsuspecting civilians in a weekly market in Kokrajar, Assam.
4. Uri: September 2016 witnessed one of the ghastliest attacks on Indian military by terrorists, when terrorists affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed attacked the Indian army camp in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir. Nineteen soldiers were martyred even as four terrorists were killed in the attack, which occurred months after Pathankot.
Addressing the nation via a tweet in the aftermath of the attack, Modi had said, “…I assure the nation that those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished.”
5. Amarnath: In July 2017, terrorists targeted a bus carrying pilgrims headed home after visiting the Amarnath Shrine in Anantnag, Kashmir. Seven people were left dead in the attack which initially targeted an armoured police vehicle.
In a series of condolence tweets, Modi had remarked, “India will never get bogged down by such cowardly attacks & the evil designs of hate.”
Pained beyond words on the dastardly attack on peaceful Amarnath Yatris in J&K. The attack deserves strongest condemnation from everyone.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 10, 2017
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