India responded to Pak firing with courage: Modi

‘Where the jawans have to speak, they speak with their finger on the trigger’

Baramati: Under fire from the opposition over escalating ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India had responded to the aggression with courage and lamented public debate on the issue for political gains.

"Today, when bullets are being fired on the border, it is the enemy that is screaming. Our jawans have responded to the aggression with courage," Modi said at an election rally at Baramati, the turf of NCP chief and former Defence Minister Sharad Pawar. "The enemy has realised that times have changed and their old habits will not be tolerated," he said.

Modi slammed those targeting the government on the issue through a public discourse, saying it demoralised the jawans fighting on the border. "Such an issue should not be part of a political debate... Elections will come and go, governments will come and go, but please don't demoralise those fighting on the border by debating these things for political gains," he said. "People know my intentions and I need not express those in words. Where the jawans have to speak, they speak with their finger on the trigger...And they will continue to speak that way," he said.