New Delhi, January 28: Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent out a stern message to Pakistan while addressing the National Cadet Corps (NCC) rally in Delhi on Tuesday. Warning the western neighbour of decimation in case of a military conflict with the Indian armed forces, Modi said the Pakistani side would face an absolute rout in less than two weeks. Indian Army Was Prepared to Take War Into Pakistan's Territory Post Balakot Strikes: Gen Bipin Rawat.

"We know that our neighbouring country has lost three wars against us. Our armed forces don't need more than 10-12 days to defeat them. They've been fighting proxy wars against India since decades. It claimed the lives of thousands of civilians and jawans," PM Modi said.

Modi, in his address to the cadets, also lashed out at the Opposition party for allegedly resorting to fearmongering over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The Indian PM accused his political rivals of sowing seeds of communal discord in the nation by provoking the minorities to launch protest.

A rollback of the citizenship law would severely hurt the interests of non-Muslim refugees who have fled persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. "Those who are fearmongering on CAA refuse to see the persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan," he said.

"Shouldn't we help the persecuted? Some time back a Pakistan Army advert came out in which it was clearly written that only Non-Muslims apply for sanitation workers post," the Prime Minister further added.

Modi also blamed the erstwhile ruling regimes of India, who have remained in power for most of the country's seven-decade period post-independence, for not cracking down on the cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. "Our forces were always ready, but it required a young thought to approve the surgical strikes," he said, adding that India needs this "yuva soch" to excel in modern times.

"Several speeches were given but when our armed forces used to ask to take action, they used to be refused. Today there is 'yuva soch', country is progressing with youthful thinking. So, it does surgical strike, airstrike and teaches lesson to terrorists after entering their house," Modi further added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 28, 2020 02:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).