NEW DELHI: The government for the first time brought defence policy outside of the shadow of foreign policy with the surgical and air strikes after the Uri and Pulwama attacks, a “nation first” move that put India in league with the US and Israel, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Saturday.
The strikes were a determined reply against terror but also a demonstration of the government’s resolve to put the nation first, the minister said at a summit here.
“In the past, there was no retaliation to incidents of incursions when terrorists would come, kill our soldiers and go back. It is for the first time, our prime minister decided that violation of our borders is not going to be easy.
“The entire world was surprised when Indians gave a befitting response to the terror strike by hitting them inside their homes (‘ghar me ghus kar’) through the surgical strike and air strikes,” Shah said without mentioning Pakistan by name.
Referring to the surgical strikes post the Uri terror attack and the air strike targeting terror camps that followed the Pulwama strike, he said India had set an example.
Only America and Israel carried out such strategic manoeuvres but these strikes ensured that India is added as a third name to the list of nations capable of such operations, Shah said.
“For the first time, defence policy came out of the shadow of foreign policy. We made it clear that we want peace with everyone. We do not want enmity with anyone but safeguarding our borders is our priority.
“Our defence is our top priority. We were able to send out a definite and loud message across the world that if you want to keep peace, we should be treated with peace. Because of this message, India got a new kind of recognition in the world,” Shah said.