'Modi fights from front, told Pak about Balakot strike before world knew' - Times of India

Source: The Times of India
Author: Gururaj Jamkhandi

BALAKOT: PM Modi revealed on Monday the untold story of how he ensured Pakistan was the first to officially hear about the 2019 Balakot airstrike, linking it to BJP-governed "new India's policy of looking an adversary in the eye and speaking the truth rather than resorting to stealth".

"I instructed our forces to notify media about the airstrike, albeit after I had informed Pakistani authorities over phone that we have carried out an airstrike, killed these many people and caused this much destruction.But they wouldn't take calls," he said at a rally in Navanagar in Bagalkot, north Karnataka. "I then directed the forces to postpone disclosure until after I managed to contact them... Modi doesn't believe in hiding or attacking from behind, he fights openly."

Modi doubles down on attack against Cong 'vote-bank politics'

PM Modi harked back to Balakot in Bagalkot, recounting with amusement initial rumours about an airstrike happening in the similar-sounding north Karnataka district after word got out of warplanes hitting terror targets.

The Navanagar rally, Modi's fifth campaign stop in north Karnataka in 24 hours, saw him doubling down, once again, on his tirade against Congress for its votebank politics, including "reservation for Muslims" in violation of the Constitution.

Modi said Congress snatched slices of the quota pie from Dalits, SC/STs and OBCs and handed these to Muslims by putting them on the OBC list. "BJP is ramping up the share of SC/ST/OBC representation by encouraging them to enter public life, which Congress is unable to tolerate."

He said the Siddaramaiah govt had "stooped so low" as to collect money even from tanker owners supplying water to parched areas of Bengaluru.

Modi started his speech in Kannada, invoking the deity Badami Banashankari, saint Basavanna and Siddeshwar Swamiji of Jnanayogashrama.

When a girl in the audience, later identified as Nagaratna Meti, held up an image of the PM with his late mother Heeraben Modi, he asked an SPG commando to get him the photo with the child's name and address on it, and promised to write to her. Party candidates PC Gaddigoudar (Bagalkot) and Ramesh Jigajinagi (Bijapur) shared the dais along with BJP's state president BY Vijayendra, former CM BS Yediyurappa, and a few ex-ministers.

North Karnataka will vote during the third phase of elections on May 7.