PM attacks forces backing appeasement politics
Prime Minister Narendra Modi witnessed “Kumbhabhishek”, wherein holy water gathered from prominent pilgrimage sites across the country was sprinkled atop the temple's “shikhar” (towering spire) by using a crane. The Prime Minister, accompanied by Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel and his deputy Harsh Sanghavi, watched an airshow performed by the Indian Air Force's Surya Kiran aerobatic team over the temple.
Addressing a gathering at the Somnath Temple complex, he said: “While India attained Independence in 1947, the pran pratishtha (consecration ceremony) of Somnath in 1951 served as a proclamation of India's liberated consciousness," he said. He stressed that the “Amrut Mahotsav” of Somnath was not just a commemoration of the past, but it was also a festival of inspiration for India for the next thousand years. “May 11 is a significant date as it not only marks the consecration of the Somnath temple, but also India's nuclear tests in 1998 under the leadership of then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee,” he said. “On May 11, 1998, the nation conducted its nuclear tests. Our scientists demonstrated India's capabilities and potential to the entire world,” Modi pointed out, adding that the tests “sent shock waves across the globe” and triggered angry reactions from several countries. Who is India to conduct nuclear tests? The world reacted with anger,” Modi said, referring to the international response following the Pokhran tests. He said global powers then tried to isolate India through sanctions and economic pressure after the tests. “Global powers mobilised to suppress India. Various sanctions were imposed, and every passage to avert a potential economic cri sis was blocked," the PM said. He said, “Anyone else would have faltered. When the world’s major powers launch such a massive offensive, it becomes difficult to find a path ahead. But we are built differently," Modi asserted. He mentioned that India went ahead with two more nuclear tests on May 13.
