'Pakistan's airbases are in ICU': PM Modi's fiery response on Op Sindoor in Lok Sabha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the world saw India's power with Operation Sindoor, joint military strikes against 9 terror camps in Pakistan. He said that the armed forces avenged April 22 in 22 minutes, adding that terror camps in Bahawalpur and Muridke were reduced to rubble.

Modi mentioned that many of Pakistan's airbases are "still in ICU".  "India has proved that nuclear blackmailing will not work anymore and neither will India bow down to this nuclear blackmailing. Pakistan's airbases and assets have suffered heavy damage. And to date, many of their airbases are in ICU," he told the Lok Sabha.

Countering Rahul Gandhi's claims that forces were restrained, PM Modi said that the government gave a free hand to the armed forces in Operation Sindoor. 

"Armed Forces were given a free hand. They were told to decide the when, where and how... We are proud that terrorists were punished, and it was such a punishment that the terrorist masterminds have sleepless nights even to this day," Modi said. 

He also took the Congress to task in his Lok Sabha address. Modi mentioned how the grand old party mocked him days after the Pahalgam attack with comments like 'Where is the 56-inch chest?'. 

"India got support of the entire world, but it is unfortunate that Congress did not support the valour of our soldiers," Modi said. He added that only 3 countries supported Pakistan at the United Nations. 

He also said that the entire nation is celebrating Vijay Utsav, and the entire nation stood behind our forces. "When I speak of this Parliament session being a Vijayotsav, it is of destroying the headquarters of terror," Modi said. 

Speaking on the Pahalgam attack, Modi said that the victims were targeted based on their religion and that the incident was an attempt to sow seeds of communal tension in India.

The Prime Minister said in the Lok Sabha: "This was a well-thought-out attempt to throw India into the fire of violence. This was a conspiracy to spread riots in India. Today I thank the countrymen that the country foiled that conspiracy with unity."

He added that right after Pahalgam, Pakistani forces knew that India would take major action and started making nuclear threats. "Our operations range from Sindoor to Sindhu (Indus); Pakistan knows they have to pay a huge price for any misadventure."