Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India today pursues a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, and over the past decade — from the Balakot airstrike to Operation Sindoor — India has sent a clear message that if terrorists dare to cast an evil eye on India, they will be met with a befitting response.

In his monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat, the PM called the surgical strikes a major and historic achievement of India. “Ten years ago, on September 28-29, 2016, the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes on terrorist hideouts in Pakistan. The world was astonished to see the manner in which our brave soldiers crossed the Line of Control (LoC) to take action against terrorism,” the PM said, adding that the surgical strikes boldly demonstrated to the entire world a new example of India’s counter-terrorism policy.

The PM said the ‘surgical strike’ was our decisive response to the long-standing pain India had endured due to terrorist attacks. “Over the past decade — from the Balakot airstrike to Operation Sindoor — India has repeatedly sent a clear message — if terrorists dare to cast an evil eye on India, they will be met with a befitting response,” Modi said.

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The PM also referred to the Delhi serial blasts of September 2008 and the Mumbai 26/11 attack, saying there was a time when serial blasts had become a common occurrence in the country.

“Friends, in the past too, there used to be demands for action against Pakistan following every terror attack, but such calls were often not given due attention; time to pass by was simply awaited. Today, India pursues a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, and we are witnessing the results of that,” Modi said.

The PM in his message also extended his condolences to the bereaved families of those killed in the 9/11 terror attack on the World Trade Center in the US. The PM said that the highest number of casualties — after Americans — were those of Indians.

Referring to the ongoing Census exercise, the PM said a grand picture of the nation is currently emerging and the first phase of this exercise is nearly complete across all states and Union Territories. Data of over 32 crore families has already been recorded, and work is underway in remote, snow-clad regions of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Uttarakhand, the PM said.

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Calling the Census exercise a national responsibility, the PM urged citizens to self-enumerate online to ensure accurate data for planning the nation’s future.