CHURU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday assured that the country is in safe hands, hours after at least twelve Mirage 2000 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out "non-military, pre-emptive air strikes" across the Line of Control which targeted terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed.


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''I assure you, the country is in safe hands today," the PM said while addressing a rally in Rajasthan's Churu.


Making a veiled reference to the IAF raids, the PM said that the world has seen the “power” of India and that he won't let anything threaten the country.


The PM, however, avoided any direct mention of the Indian action but underlined the importance of voting for a “strong” government rather than a “majbhoor” (desperate) government in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.


“Aaj aapka mizaz kuch aur lag raha hai. Aapka yeh josh mai bali baanti samajh raha hun (Today, your mood looks different. I can very well understand your josh),” the Prime Minister said, obviously referring to Tuesday's military action.


“Today, the world is watching India’s power... You are seeing it definitely,” PM Modi said.


"Today, from the land of Churu, I want to assure the countrymen that the country is in safe hands," he added.


PM recited a couplet, first narrated in 2014, by which he asserted that he will never let the country’s prestige be lowered.


“Saugandh mujhe is mitti ki main desh nahi mitne doonga, main desh nahi rukne doonga. Main desh nahi jhukne doonga....Mera vachan hai Bharat maa ko, tera sheesh nahi jhukne doonga (It is my vow to the motherland, I will not let your head hang in shame),” he said.


“Nothing is bigger than the country,” PM Modi added.


He lauded the contribution of the armed forces and highlighted the efforts made by his government to benefit the security personnel.


“Through OROP, I am happy to tell you this that 20 lakh soldiers benefitted from the scheme. In Rajasthan 1 lakh soldiers have benefitted," he added.


He also took the occasion to throw light on measures taken by his government for farmers and said, “Within next 10 years Rs 7.5 Lakh Crore will be deposited in the accounts of farmers. They will not have to do anything for it. They will directly get a notification on their mobile phones, saying that they have received the amount.”


“Though, not one farmer is from Churu, because the government here has failed to give a list of farmers to the Centre,” he added.


The remarks from PM Modi came hours after the IAF's Mirage 2000 fighter jets carried out non-military, pre-emptive air strikes targeting Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camps in Balakot in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, eliminating a “large number” of terrorists, including top commanders.


It has also emerged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi followed the real-time updates of IAF's pre-dawn operation to strike down terror camps in Pakistan on Tuesday. PM Modi supervised the entire operation from the situation room at Rashtrapati Bhavan's South Block. 


Top intelligence sources told Zee Media that multiple options were given to Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa who chalked out the entire strike plan. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval had also detailed the PM on the IAF operation earlier. 


After the successful completion of the operation, top foreign diplomats of the US, China, Russia, UK, Brazil, Australia, Indonesia, Turkey and six ASEAN nations were duly briefed about today's operation.


The terror camp in a thick forest area atop a hill was led by Ustad Gauri, brother-in-law of JeM chief Masood Azhar, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said in a press briefing confirming the development.