New Delhi: In a scathing attack on the Congress-led UPA government, BJP national president and Rajya Sabha MP JP Nadda on Wednesday highlighted what he called a “stark difference” in India’s counter-terrorism approach between 2004-2014 and 2014-2025.
Speaking during a discussion on Operation Sindoor, Nadda praised the armed forces and security personnel, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “decisive leadership” for transforming India’s response to terror.
Comparing two eras of governance, he said, “Between 2004 and 2014, India saw a non-reactive and indecisive government that responded to terror attacks with dossiers, not deterrence,” Nadda said, citing a series of high-casualty attacks during the UPA regime – including the 2005 Delhi bombings, 2006 Mumbai train blasts, 2008 Jaipur and Ahmedabad attacks, and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
He noted that during this phase, despite repeated terror strikes claimed by Pakistan-based outfits like Lashkar-e-Toiba, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, and Indian Mujahideen, the then government continued confidence-building measures with Pakistan – opening trade routes, increasing flights, and resuming dialogue.
“They served biryani while bullets came from across the border,” Nadda remarked.
Presenting comparative data, he noted, the country witnessed 7,217 incidents in 2004-2014, while under PM Modi, the terror incidents declined to 2,150 (2015–2025). In civilian deaths, under UPA, the country witnessed the deaths of 1,060 civilians as compared to 542 (under the Modi govt) – a reduction of 49 per cent.
He also underlined key milestones like the 2016 Uri surgical strikes and the 2019 Balakot airstrikes, which followed deadly terror attacks on Indian forces. “For the first time since independence, we hit back deep inside Pakistan,” he said. “Same army, same police – the only difference is the political will,” he emphasised.
Referring to the recent Pahalgam attack, he said that Operation Sindoor stands as a testament to India’s new doctrine. “We went 300 km inside Pakistan, destroyed major terror infrastructure of Jaish, LeT, Hizbul – and not a single Indian civilian was harmed. Under UPA, talks and terror ran parallel.”
“Under PM Modi, ‘terror and talks cannot go together’ became the doctrine,” Nadda said, citing steps like suspension of the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme for Pakistani nationals, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, closure of trade and aggressive global diplomacy.
(IANS)
