Amit Shah said “POK was given by you, and only the BJP government will bring it back,” directly blaming the Congress for territorial losses.
Praising Operation Sindoor, Shah maintained Pakistan’s weak defense, “Pakistan was brought to its knees... their DGMO called and said enough is enough.”
Shah categorically declared, “Hindus can never be terrorists,” criticising the Congress for coining the term "Hindu terror."
Union Home Minister Amit Shah slammed the Congress Party in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday during a reply to the discussion on Operation Sindoor. He further accused the opposition party of weakening India’s national security through decades of appeasement politics.
"I proudly declare to the world... Hindus can never be terrorists,” he said, questioning the Congress for filing false cases against many "patriotic religious institutions".
Breakdown of Speech:
In his speech lasting over an hour, Shah focused on what he described as the Congress’s failure to act decisively on terrorism and border security during its rule. Drawing a contrast with the BJP-led government, he cited Balakot airstrikes, surgical strikes, and recent anti-terror operations like Operation Sindoor and Operation Mahadev as examples of a robust national security approach under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
“The priority of Congress is not the country's security. Their objective is only vote bank and appeasement politics... Terrorism took roots, spread, and grew in India... the sole reason for this has been the Congress' politics of appeasement and weak policies,” Shah said, as per PTI.
Referring to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK), Shah pointed fingers squarely at the Congress for the territorial division:
“I want to tell the Congress that POK was given by you, and only the BJP government will bring it back.”
Shah took a stand on the accusation of communalising terrorism, slamming the Congress for allegedly using terms like “Hindu terror” in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
As the House debated India’s recent counterterrorism missions, Shah provided details of the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, which resulted in the deaths of civilians, including tourists. He accused the Congress of casting doubt on the motivation behind the government’s response.
“Pakistan was brought to its knees, their DGMO called and said enough is enough, please stop it now.”
“I want to say to the terrorists through this House... do as much as you want... Jammu and Kashmir will be free from terrorism. This is the resolve of Modi ji.”
The Home Minister said operations like Sindoor and Mahadev were carried out with coordination between the CRPF, Indian Army, and Jammu and Kashmir Police, even under conditions where drones were used to deliver food in difficult terrains.
Targeting former Home Minister P. Chidambaram for questioning the justification of Operation Sindoor, Shah criticised him for seeking proof that the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack were from Pakistan.
He said that Chidambaram exposed the mentality of Congress to the whole world that for vote bank they would support Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Taiba and terrorists.
Responding to objections about the naming of Operation Mahadev by Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, Shah invoked history:
He claimed "Har Har Mahadev" was the war cry given by Shivaji Maharaj while fighting against the Mughals, reported PTI.
Shah defended the government's national security and military preparedness:
“The Congress never took any concrete steps for the preparation of the Indian Army. During the war with China, we didn't even have proper clothes to wear in the cold... there was neither salt nor matchsticks, and we had a severe shortage of guns and cartridges.”
Shah said today, under the leadership of Modi ji, the Army is equipped with modern weapons like the BrahMos missile.
“The 'Akash Teer' missile destroys enemy missiles in the air itself, and our Army can turn Pakistan's entire air defence system into rubble in just half an hour.”
He said the government decided to end the one-sided Indus Water Treaty as Indian farmers have their rights on the Indus water.
He claimed that the Modi government had successfully eliminated terror launchpads and dismantled terror financing structures, especially in Jammu and Kashmir. Referring to Article 370, he claimed that Article 370 gave opportunities to Pakistan to promote terrorism in Kashmir but its removal started an era of elimination of terrorism.
“In Jammu and Kashmir, 2,564 stone-pelting incidents occurred in 2010. Not a single incident has occurred after 2024.”
“Organized strikes -- announced by Hurriyat leaders sitting in Pakistan, which kept the Valley shut for 132 days annually, have not been called even once in the last three years. Now they no longer have the courage to call for a shutdown.”
On China, he criticised the Congress's historical foreign policy, alleging pro-China leanings, claiming the opposition party's love for China had continued for generations since 1960s.
Opposition members, demanding a response from the Prime Minister, staged a walkout when the Chair refused to allow their intervention during Shah’s address.
Despite the walkout, Shah maintained his stance that Operation Sindoor was not a war but the use of India's power for self-defence. He said the Congress govt would have given a clean chit to Pakistan had they been in power today.
Shah further asserted that there has been a 75 per cent reduction in violence in insurgency and Left-wing extremism under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi.
In his closing statements, he said, "We hoisted the flag of the Indian constitution in Kashmir," the Home Minister said, adding that terrorism is on the verge of extinction in Kashmir.
