Operation Sindoor delivered a strong message on security: Amit Shah
Mr. Shah, who also holds the Cooperative portfolio in the Union Cabinet, was addressing a cooperative and employment festival, marking International Cooperatives Year-2025, at Dadiya village near Jaipur. He referred to Operation Sindoor, affirming that it had eliminated terrorists based in Pakistan.
'When the Uri attack occurred, [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi took decisive action by carrying out the surgical strike. After the Pulwama attack, an airstrike was ordered. After the attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor was sanctioned, which targeted terrorists across the border,' Mr. Shah said.
Fourth largest economy
Mr. Shah said the country had become the fourth largest economy under Mr. Modi's leadership, while 22 crore people had been lifted above the poverty line. The vision of a 'prosperous and secure nation' had been turned into a reality under the present dispensation, he added.
Meanwhile, veteran Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday asked Mr. Shah to clarify why the trial in Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal's murder case was not making headway after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the matter. Two cleaver-wielding men had murdered Mr. Lal in June 2022, when Mr. Gehlot was the CM.
Mr. Gehlot said at a press conference here, ahead of Mr. Shah's address at the event, that though the State police had apprehended the accused within four hours of the incident, NIA took over the case overnight. 'Three years later, even the statements [of witnesses] have not been recorded in the court,' he said.
CM Sharma praised
Mr. Shah praised Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma for launching public welfare and development works and said the BJP government in the State had taken strong action against paper leaks in recruitment exams by forming a Special Investigation Team.
He also pointed to the cooperative sector's contribution to development and said it was playing an active role in 98% of rural areas. The Ministry of Cooperation had launched 61 initiatives in the last four years to strengthen the sector, he said.
Mr. Shah flagged off 100 new police vehicles, visited an exhibition of cooperative products, and distributed appointment letters to youths selected for government jobs. He also virtually inaugurated 24 food grain storage warehouses and 64 millet outlets on the occasion.
Besides the CM Mr. Sharma, Union Minister of Culture & Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Deputy CMs Prem Chand Bairwa and Diya Kumari, and former CM Vasundhara Raje were also present.
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Before holding the July 31 evening meeting with Mr. Stalin came the announcement that the 'OPS' camp had decided to exit the Alliance, a move that was attributed to the Union government's refusal to provide funds to Tamil Nadu under the Samagra Shiksha scheme. Modi's man All the recent developments must have been odd for the Mr. Panneerselvam, who was not long ago seen as Mr. Modi's loyal supporter. He was present when Mr. Modi filed his nomination papers in Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency in 2019. He surprised many in November 2020 when he used a government function, where Amit Shah and Mr. Palaniswami were present, to announce that the AIADMK, for which he was the coordinator then, and the BJP would continue their alliance for the 2021 Assembly polls. At the function, the veteran political leader, who joined the AIADMK in 1977, had hailed the Union Minister as a 'modern day Chanakya'. The gist Panneerselvam was the AIADMK's 'natural choice' for the CM post in September 2001 after the Supreme Court unseated Jayalalithaa; in September 2014, when Jayalalithaa was convicted in a disproportionate assets case; and in December 2016, after her death After his resignation, he patched up with Palaniswami and became the Deputy Chief Minister. He was seen as a close supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Late last month, the 'OPS' camp decided to exit the NDA, a move that was attributed to the Union government's refusal to provide funds to Tamil Nadu under the Samagra Shiksha scheme The perception generated by Mr. Panneerselvam's meetings with Mr. Stalin may be hard to digest for the traditional supporters of the AIADMK, who have been schooled in viewing the DMK as an 'evil force'. But he seems to be having limited options. Even though he still has the option of going along with the fledgling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) led by actor Vijay, the seasoned leader knows fully well that given the grip of the bipolar system in the State, it is next to impossible for a third force to capture even a handful of seats. Not everyone views Mr. Panneerselvam sympathetically and there are critics who say he has 'proved yet again' that he is 'unreliable'. Originally, he drew his strength from his proximity to former interim general secretary of the AIADMK V.K. Sasikala, who had served as an aide of Jayalalithaa for about 30 years, and her nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran, who is now heading the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK). All of them belong to the same caste group — Mukkulathor — though they are from different sub-groups: Mr. Panneerselvam from Maravar and Ms. Sasikala and Mr. Dhinakaran from Kallar. Once called 'Mr. Faithful', Mr. Panneerselvam, who was with the Janaki Ramachandran group of the party at the time of the party split in 1988, came to be noted for qualities such as humility and fierce loyalty. No wonder, he became the party's nominee for the chairmanship of the Periyakulam Municipality in 1996. His stock in the party began growing, particularly after he served as a key member of the campaign team when Mr. Dhinakaran contested from the Periyakulam Lok Sabha constituency in 1999 and won. Next year, Mr. Panneerselvam became the Theni district secretary of the AIADMK. His qualities and the reputation of an archetypal feudal supplicant had stood him in good stead. He was the party's 'natural choice' for the CM post in September 2001 after the Supreme Court unseated Jayalalithaa; in September 2014, when she was convicted in a disproportionate assets case; and in December 2016 after her death. In Jayalalithaa's Cabinet, he was, at one time, Minister in charge of 13 portfolios. 'Righteous war' The high point in his political career came in February 2017 when he went out all guns blazing against Ms. Sasikala. After quitting the CM post and a 40-minute long 'meditation' at the Jayalalithaa mausoleum on the Marina, he made a dramatic announcement, claiming that he was 'compelled to quit the post'. This marked the launch of his 'dharmayudham' (righteous war) against the 'domination' of Ms. Sasikala's family in the party affairs. In no time, he patched up with Mr. Palaniswami, and became the Deputy Chief Minister six months later. Feeling that he had only a limited space to operate in the party and the government under Mr. Palaniswami, he swiftly re-established ties with Mr. Dhinakaran. At the time of the 2021 Assembly polls, he tried hard for the AMMK's accommodation under the AIADMK fold, but to no avail. As he seems to have exhausted the 'goodwill of his benefactors', including Mr. Modi, Mr. Panneerselvam, a survivor of many trials, is now at the mercy of Mr. Stalin to keep himself and his loyalists afloat. The traditional supporters of the AIADMK may not like it, but for Mr. Panneerselvam, it is a matter of life and death in electoral politics.
