The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday launched a communication outreach on Operation Sindoor, India’s military strike against terror camps in Pakistan, and the events that followed, culminating in a ceasefire on Saturday.
The party had stayed quiet during the operation itself. On Monday, people familiar with the matter said that with the ceasefire in place, and given not just the disinformation being pushed by the Pakistanis, but also the disappointment that some of the BJP’s core base has expressed in what they see as a premature end to the campaign, the time is right to launch an outreach.
The formal outreach began after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation at 8pm in which he said, “ India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail… India will strike precisely and decisively at terrorist hideouts.” The Prime Minister also underlined India’s stated position that talks and terror cannot proceed together.
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“ I want to tell the world community, if there will be talks with Pakistan, it will only be on terrorism. If there has to be talks with Pakistan, it will be on Pakistan occupied Kashmir,” he said.
Prior to the Modi’s address, the BJP had already warmed up with a press conference by party spokesperson Sambit Patra, who described Operation Sindoor as a “100% successful operation”.
“… We were successful. For the first time, the whole world saw that every inch of Pakistan is within India’s reach. There is no corner of Pakistan that is out of India’s reach. And think about it, Pakistan’s air defense system failed,” he added.
According to a senior party leader who asked not to be named, state units, will organise public programmes such as a 10-day Tiranga Yatra, calling on families of the personnel killed in action, and going to people with the details of how India decimated terror camps across the border.
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“Owing to the sensitivity of the operation the BJP did not make any comments or statements about the military action that was being executed by our armed forces. But the message from the very beginning was absolutely clear. The PM while addressing a rally in Bihar (on April 24) said the perpetrators (of the April 22 terror) attack in Pahalgam (in Kashmir) would be served punishment beyond their imagination and that has been fulfilled,” added the leader.
On April 22, terrorists gunned down 26 people, all men, 25 of them Indians and 24 Hindus in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir.
The leader admitted that in the absence of statements from the party platform, there was confusion among the rank and file about the “silence” from leadership. “The opposition too was asking questions about the operation; there is a demand for a special session (of Parliament) and our cadre on the ground wanted to bust the misinformation and propaganda by Pakistan about the losses that we faced.”
The details of the programme are believed to have been fleshed out at Sunday’s late evening meeting between party president JP Nadda and senior ministers including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Bhupender Yadav, Kiren Rijiju and Ashwani Vaishnaw.
This was followed by another meeting at the party headquarters on Monday, after which two national general secretaries Vinod Tawde and Tarun Chugh were given charge of drawing up the details of the outreach.
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A second party functionary said leaders have also instructed state units to ensure that the “language” for communication is “balanced and appropriate.”
“While there was immense support for the armed forces the carried out the strikes, we will communicate how India did not hurt innocent civilians unlike Pakistan. The international support that India has elicited is because our response was not impulsive but strategic, well planned and well executed,” added this person , who too asked not to be named.
A similar outreach, he said was carried out after the surgical strikes across the border following the terror attacks in Uri in 2016 and the Pulwama Attack in 2019.
On Monday morning, listing Pakistan’s losses, Patra said the country lost “11 of their military air bases, 100 plus terrorists have been killed, 50 PAF soldiers have also been killed, and it has lost its izzat (self-respect).”
India has released a list of terrorists who were killed during the strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and a list of air bases that were also attacked by its forces.
In a joint-press briefing conducted by the Indian military on Sunday evening, Director General of Military Operations Lt. General Rajiv Ghai confirmed the names of high-value targets killed in the Operation Sindoor strikes.
Patra said the operation, sent a strong message against terrorism to the world. “It was controlled, measured, precise, and non-escalatory. We targeted terrorists, and Pakistan targeted civilians,” he said.
Responding to a question on the US claims of having brokered the ceasefire that was announced by the two countries on Saturday, Patra said it was the Pakistani side that called for a halt.
He said, “The Indian DGMO received a call from his Pakistani counterpart and said there should be some kind of stoppage in such a situation.” He also referred to the ceasefire as an “understanding” , not an agreement, and said India “was not in favour of escalation.”
Patra said the leadership has taken both military and non military actions against Pakistan for masterminding and executing terror attacks in India. His reference was to India putting the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance.
“It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of India who weakened Pakistan. Operation Sindoor has both a military and a non-military aspect… As you all know, nearly 90% of Pakistan’s water supply is dependent on this (IWT). About 80% of their agricultural water relies on it. If this water is cut off, Pakistan’s GDP will drop by a quarter. If Pakistan is deprived of this water, their conditions will worsen, and their agriculture will suffer,” Patra claimed.