Loose words of some politicians can’t demoralise armed forces: PM Modi

PTI, Feb 6, 2024, 8:45 AM IST

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday lauded the armed forces and slammed opposition leaders, saying their “loose” words cannot demoralise the forces and that the country can never accept their language if they work like “agents of someone”.

In his reply in the Lok Sabha to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address, Modi also lashed out at those seeking to “break the country”.

“What is inside you,” he asked, in an apparent reference to Congress MP D K Suresh who had recently alleged discrimination by the Centre against south India in the allocation of funds and had suggested that the region may be forced to demand a separate country.

“Some people are openly talking of having a country within the country. Forget about unity, you are talking of breaking it up. You are still not content after so many divisions of the country. You still want to break it. How long will you do it,” he asked.

With some opposition members attacking his government over the alleged Chinese intrusion into Ladakh, the prime minister said he had full faith in the strength of India’s armed forces irrespective of however much these leaders “try to break their morale”.

“If some people live in this dream that their loose words will demoralise the armed forces, then they should come out of it. The country will never tolerate such a language raised from anywhere by those acting as agents of someone,” he said.

The country has become stronger in the last 10 years, Modi said, adding that terrorism and naxalism have now been confined to a small region.

The world has been forced to follow India’s policy of zero-tolerance towards terrorism, he said, asserting that the Indian armed forces have been acknowledged for their capabilities on the borders and in the sea.

“We should be proud of our armed forces’ strength,” he said.

People used to worry about Kashmir during discussions on it earlier in Parliament, now its unprecedented development in being talked about, Modi claimed.