No hesitation in wiping out terrorists, wherever they are: Rajnath

Patna, July 02: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday asserted that the Narendra Modi government will not hesitate to eliminate terrorists, wherever they are, and that no distinction will be made between masterminds and the regimes which sponsor them.

The former BJP president's stern message to Pakistan, without mentioning the neighbouring country by name, came in his address to the party's state executive meeting in Bihar, where assembly elections are due this year.

Singh said that under Modi, the country's policy on security has turned a new leaf with steps like surgical strikes and Balakot airstrikes.

Referring to the military operation that followed the Pahalgam terror attack, he said, "Operation Sindoor marked the first time when we struck at terror hideouts 100 km beyond our borders. Of course, we hit only those who had hit us, a reason why no civilians nor any military installations were targeted".

"Under Modi, our policy has been not to hesitate in eliminating terrorists wherever they are. And we shall do so without making a distinction between masterminds of terror attacks and regimes which sponsor them," said the defence minister.

He added that the country's defence exports have seen a sharp rise, thanks to Modi's thrust on "swadeshikaran" (production at home) and "Aatma Nirbhar Bharat".

"The Modi government works with a long-term road-map, in marked contrast with Congress-led governments of the past, which lacked direction and were driven by vote bank concerns," said the Union minister.

Singh also made an oblique reference to the controversy over RSS second in command Dattatreya Hosabale's remark that the words "secular" and "socialist" be dropped from the preamble of the Constitution, as those were inserted during the infamous Emergency.

"I would like to ask fake secularists, after the word secular was added to the country's Constitution, why was it not added to the separate Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir? Should the state, where minority Hindus were being oppressed, not have been secular? Jammu and Kashmir became secular only after Article 370 was abrogated," he said.

The BJP leader claimed that the party is the only political organisation in the entire world to have raised a voice against atrocities against minorities in neighbouring countries and taken a concrete step, in the form of CAA, upon coming to power.

He said, "India has always believed in treating all faiths with respect. Parsis were accepted with open arms. We have one of the world's oldest churches in Kerala. Ours is the only land where all 72 sects of Islam are recognised."

In contrast, even Ahmadiya Muslims are facing persecution in Pakistan, and one should not speak about minorities, Singh said.

"The situation is horrifying in Bangladesh as well. The treatment meted out to Hindus there is a blot on humanity," said the defence minister.