With the Opposition flagging US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of mediating the May 10 ceasefire between India and Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Lok Sabha on Tuesday that “no leader in the world asked India to stop its military operation (Sindoor)”. He said he had told US Vice-President J D Vance on May 9 that if Pakistan fired bullets, India would respond with cannonballs.

Replying to an over 16-hour discussion in Lok Sabha on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, Modi said it was the Pakistan DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) who “begged” his Indian counterpart for a ceasefire.

While he did not mention Trump, Modi said he spoke to US Vice-President J D Vance on the night of May 9. “On the night of May 9, the US Vice-President tried to talk to me. He was trying for one hour, but I was busy in meetings with the forces. Then I called… He told me that Pakistan was planning a big attack. My answer was… that if Pakistan is planning this, it will pay a heavy price. If Pakistan attacks, we will attack harder. Then I said we will answer bullets with cannonballs,” he said.

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“No country in the world stopped India from acting in its defence. The United Nations has 193 countries — only three spoke in favour of Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. All other countries supported India,” Modi said.

“We got support from the world, but it is unfortunate that the valour of our forces did not get support from the Congress. They were jumping within three-four days of April 22 (day of the Pahalgam attack), asking where is Modi… They were enjoying it. Even in the killing of innocent people, they were looking to score political points… You can grab media headlines like this but you cannot find a place in people’s hearts,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi during the discussion on Tuesday. PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi during the discussion on Tuesday. PTI

On the ceasefire, Modi said: “… The Pakistan DGMO begged our DGMO… please stop, you have beaten us enough, we can’t take it any longer. India had said on May 7 that we have completed our job, if you do something, you will pay a price. It was India’s clear strategy to target terror hubs, and our action was non-escalatory.”

He also defended India’s decision to inform Pakistan about the attack minutes after it targeted terror hubs early on May 7, recalling that the Army had said at a press conference that it had accomplished its goals and would retaliate only if Pakistan attacked.

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“India destroyed Pakistan’s military strength between May 9 and May 10. Pakistan now clearly understands that India’s response will always get bigger and that India can do anything if it engages in any misadventure in future,” he said. “I repeat that Operation Sindoor is still on. If Pakistan tries anything, it will be given a tough reply,” the PM said.

Modi also accused the Congress of “importing issues from Pakistan” and echoing the country’s propaganda. “Unfortunately, Congress leaders have become spokespersons of this stratagem of Pakistan,” he said. “Yesterday, our security forces sent the Pahalgam terrorists to their destination in Operation Mahadev. Here, they are asking why it happened yesterday. What has happened to them? This level of hopelessness,” he said.

Modi said the Congress had also raised questions on the Uri surgical strikes and Balakot airstrike. This time, when all the evidence was presented, the party was asking why the government halted the operation, he said. He said criticising the security forces was an old habit of the Congress, adding that the party never celebrated the Kargil victory when in power.

Modi said the Pahalgam terror attack was a conspiracy to provoke violence in India, but the country’s unity foiled the plot. He recalled that when he returned from abroad after the attack, he gave the defence forces a free hand to pick the time, spot and means of their attack. “We are proud that terrorists were given the kind of punishment that their masters are sleepless till today,’ he said.

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Also Read | Only time will tell if Operation Sindoor was decisive: Chidambaram

Pakistan’s nuclear blackmail did not work, India reached sites in Pakistan it had never reached before, established its superior technical skill based on make-in-India equipment, and showed synergy across the three defence forces because of reforms — like the creation of the office of the Chief of Defence Staff, tripling of the defence budget in a decade, a 250 per cent increase in defence production, 30-fold increase in defence exports — over the last decade, Modi said.

“The Congress, when in power, did not even think of self-reliance for the forces. The Congress used to find opportunity in every defence deal. From jeep to Bofors to helicopter — there is a scam attached with everything. Our forces had to wait for decades for modern equipment,” he said.

He said that while terror attacks used to happen earlier too, their masterminds were having sleepless nights now, adding that this was the new normal India had set. “Terrorists are crying, their masters are crying and some people are crying watching them,” he said in a swipe at the Congress, asserting that Pakistan-based leaders of terrorist groups, who earlier thought they were safe from any Indian action, were now having sleepless nights.

Operation Sindoor targeted the epicentre of terrorism, where the Pahalgam attack had been planned and terrorists were recruited and trained, he said.

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Modi said those asking why India did not take back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir should remember that it was lost by the then Jawaharlal Nehru government just after independence.

He also blamed Nehru for the Indus Waters Treaty. “It was about rivers emanating here. Those rivers were part of our civilisational ethos. The Indus was India’s identity. But Nehru ji and Congress gave the World Bank the panchayat to decide on our waters and rivers. The Indus Waters Treaty was a deception inflicted on India,” he said.

Also Read | Release innocent Kashmiris arrested post-Pahalgam, National Conference MP appeals to govt during Op Sindoor debate

He said the treaty gave 80 per cent water to Pakistan and only 20 per cent was left for India. “Our farmers had the right to these waters.” he said, adding, “They pushed India into a water crisis; there arose differences between our states for water. Many big projects would have come up if this treaty would not have been signed. India would have had more drinking water and hydroelectric power,” Modi said.

“Despite wars and proxy-wars, the Congress did not rethink the treaty. But now, India has corrected Nehru’s blunder by keeping the treaty in abeyance in the interests of our farmers. Blood and water cannot flow together,” he said.

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“After 26/11, the Congress’s love for Pakistan did not stop. Under foreign pressure, they started talking to Pakistan soon. They did not expel even one diplomat from India. They did not even cancel a single visa. Pakistan-sponsored attacks continued, but Pakistan had most-favoured-nation status. The country was asking for justice, and Congress was busy doing trade with Pakistan,” the PM said.

Modi said the Congress’s failure to take decisive action against terror was partly because of its “appeasement policy”, adding that when India was facing repeated terror attacks, the Congress was seeking out “Hindu terror”.