Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar Tuesday said Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor had shown “we have no other option but to remain united and grow stronger”. He also called for political consensus regarding national security and economic progress.
The V-P told the interns: “On issues of national security and economic progress, all factions need to put national interest over partisan priorities. I will appeal to everyone in the political spectrum to seriously reflect and come to a conclusion that on issues of national security… growth… our internal security, there must be consensus.”
Referring to the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s strike on terror sites in Pakistan and PoK in response, the V-P said there was an “upsurge in nationalism”.
“The recent episode, Operation Sindoor, has changed our mindset massively. We are now nationalistic as never before. This is reflected in participation of all political delegations that have gone abroad to project our message of peace and our complete intolerance to terrorism… We have no other option but to remain united and grow stronger,” he said.
“Targeting only the terrorists because our civilisational essence is ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (world is one). Therefore India’s strategy has been to target only terrorists and not civilians,” he said.The V-P said “indigenous strength” was needed for national security. “Peace is secured when you are ever-ready for war.”
Earlier in the day, the V-P announced the nomination of Dr M L Raja, an ophthalmologist and historian from , as the Rajya Sabha’s Dr S Radhakrishnan Chair for 2025-2026.
