Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday lashed out at the opposition parties, claiming their “Modi hatred” has turned into “hatred for India”, eventually leading them to even suspect the nation’s armed forces.

The Prime Minister was at an event in Kanniyakumari in the southern tip of Tamil Nadu to launch several projects and to also speak at a political rally and, in the course of his speech, referred to the Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman who was released by Pakistan on Friday evening. The pilot was captured after his aircraft was downed across the LoC by Pakistan on Wednesday.

“Every Indian is proud that the brave Wing Commander Abhinandan is from Tamil Nadu,” the Prime Minister said.

Modi laid the foundation stone for the restoration of rail connectivity between Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu, which was washed away in 1964. Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi are major pilgrimage and tourist destinations in Tamil Nadu.

He also flagged off the high-speed Tejas Express between Madurai and Chennai; laid the foundation stone for the New Pamban Viaduct; launched work on five national highways projects worth ₹2,995 crore in Kanniyakumari; and inaugurated a road safety park and transport museum.

“Today India is the fastest growing large economy in the world. India is creating next generation infrastructure at a record pace. The people want honesty, development, progress, opportunities and security from the government,” Modi said.

Modi congratulated the city’s Vivekananda Kendra on being conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize a few days ago.

But much of his speech was devoted to attacking the opposition.

“The world is supporting India’s fight against terror, but a few parties, suspect our fight against terror,” Modi added, asking the opposition parties: “Do you believe in our armed forces or those who support terrorism on our soil?”

Modi charged the previous Congress governments with being inept and unable to take decisive action in the wake of terror attacks.

“This is a new India. This is an India that will return the damage done by terrorists with interest,” he asserted.

“Modi will come and go but India will remain. Please stop weakening India to strengthen your own politics. In matters of national security we are Indian first,” he said in comments directed at the opposition.

Reacting to Modi’s comments EVKS Elangovan, former Union minister and Ex TNCC president said: “Modi is known for empty rhetoric without any substance. To cover up his colossal failures, he is attempting to paint the opposition as the villain. When he launched demonetisation, the rationale offered was to stop terror financing. Has it stopped? Instead, we have been witnessing more and more terror attacks. In the IAF launching strikes to dismantle terror camps in Pakistan, the credit goes to our forces and not to Prime Minister Modi.”

Dhanushkodi meaning bow’s end in Tamil, is a village at the southern tip of Rameswaram Island. It was once a flourishing tourist and pilgrimage centre. There was a 17.20 Km-long railway line between Pamban and Dhanushkodi. A popular ferry service connected Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar in Sri Lanka.

In Andhra Pradesh’ Visakhapatnam, Modi renewed his attack on the opposition and said: “My enemies are country’s enemies.”

Addressing an election rally in the backdrop of railway minister Piyush Goyal’s recent announcement sanctioning a long-pending railway zone in Andhra Pradesh, Modi accused Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu, an architect of the non-BJP opposition front, of compromising on the country’s security in pursuit of his “anti-Modi agenda”.

“The opposition makes tough talk against Modi all the time while being soft on external aggressors and Pakistan-sponsored terror groups indulging in blood-letting in Jammu and Kashmir,” the prime minister charged.

He added the opposition lacks a common agenda and ideological coherence.

First Published: Mar 01, 2019 22:56 IST