PM Narendra Modi paid homage to the CRPF soldiers who died in the suicide attack (File)
Highlights
- NDA ally Nitish Kumar called for appropriate response
- Ram Vilas Paswan said India should take "revenge"
- PM Narendra Modi said he shared the nation's outrage
The demand for retaliatory action following the terror attack in Pulwama grew as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bihar on Sunday to inaugurate some central projects. As NDA ally Nitish Kumar called for appropriate response, ally Ram Vilas Paswan said India should take "revenge" for "every drop of blood shed in Pulwama". The Prime Minister said he shared the nation's outrage.
"To the people who have gathered here, I would like to say the fire that is raging in your bosoms is in my heart too," he said.
More than 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force died on Thursday as a suicide bomber of the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e Mohammed rammed a car, filled with explosives, into a 78-vehicle convoy.
The resulting explosion had ripped apart one bus and hit another, spreading metal debris and human remains over a 100-metre radius on the national highway.
There have been repeated demands for appropriate action from the shocked nation.
Pulwama terror attack: Over 40 nations have condemned the terror attack
Home Minister Rajnath Singh and the CRPF have not minced words in expressing their desire to avenge the deaths.
PM Modi has promised that the sacrifices" of the jawans at Pulwama "will not go in vain". Union Minister Arun Jaitley, too, tweeted that the terrorists "will be given unforgettable lesson for their heinous act".
India's response against the attack has been two-pronged so far.
On the one hand, efforts are on to isolate Pakistan diplomatically, on the other, allowances made for Pakistan in terms of trade have been scrapped. India has withdrawn the Most Favoured Nation or MFN status to Pakistan and imposed 200 per cent customs duties on goods from across the border.
Over 40 nations have condemned the terror attack and New Delhi has asked the international community to support naming JeM chief Masood Azhar as a "UN designated terrorist".
On Sunday, as the government withdrew security to separatists in Jammu and Kashmir, BJP chief Amit Shah promised further action.
At a rally in Assam, Mr Shah said, "The sacrifice of the soldiers of CRPF won't go in vain. This time the central government is not Congress... It is Modi's government, which will not compromise on issue of national security... the BJP government has given answers for terrorism".