Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday attended the historic Ramlila celebrations here where he launched a veiled attack on Pakistan, saying those who help and provide shelter to terrorists cannot be spared, but made no reference to the surgical strikes.
Making terrorism the centrepoint of his over 20-minute speech, he said terror was the worst enemy of humanity and called upon the world community to speak in one voice against the menace to put an end to it.
PM Modi became the first PM to attend a Ramlila event outside Delhi and his participation at the Aishbagh celebrations assumes significance in the context of Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh early next year.
Here’s top quotes from PM Modi’s speech in Lucknow:
– Terrorism is the enemy of humanity. Terrorism does not have any boundaries. It is bound to destroy all. It will not be possible to save humanity without eradicating terrorism.
– Those who help terrorists and provide shelter to them can no longer be spared. All forces across the world have to talk in one voice and end it.
In 1992-93, was talking to someone from US Department of State on terrorism, they said it’s your ‘law and order problem’. That changed after 9/11.
– Ye desh charkhadhaari Mohan ka bhi hai, aur Budh ka bhi hai. hum yudh se budh ki yatra kay logh hai. Krishna je jeevan me yudh tha, Ram ke jeevan me yudh tha, par hum vo hai jo yudh se Budh ke marg pe jaana chate hai. (We are the people who go from war to peace. Sometimes war is necessary, but our path is not that of war, but that of Buddha.)
– If a country of 1.25 crore keeps an eye on every terrorist activity, terrorists will never succeed.
– Ramayana is the witness, that the first fighter against terrorism was Jataayu, who fought for a woman’s honour.
– Even if all of us can’t be Lord Ram, we can all try and be Jatayu, and keep terrorism at bay.
– There should be a celebration of Dusshera within ourselves as well, kill the 10 ‘haras’ within ourselves.
– Communalism, casteism, nepotism are forms of evil inside us, need to get rid of these ‘Ravanas’.
– Today is the International Day of the Girl Child. There is a need to end discrimination based on gender. Women need to be respected and treated right, no matter what religion or background one comes from.
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