The 2014 election campaign was different in terms of context and backdrop. It was about removing a corrupt party from power. But today the campaign is about sustaining India’s growth, which is based on the hard work done by the Modi government, said Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday.

‘Reformative changes’

Addressing the media at the party office, Sitharaman said the reformative changes, which have been brought about in the last five years by the NDA alliance, need to be sustained. It needs a decisive administration, she said. Asked about the Balakot air attack being used for political propaganda by the BJP, Sitharaman refuted the claim saying that after the 26/11 Mumbai attack if the Congress government had taken decisive steps against Pakistan, the situation would have been different.

The Modi government took action in Uri and Balakot, which is a manifestation of the political will behind the armed forces. But the Congress party is not very comfortable when BJP talks about political will. Therefore, they talk about the politicisation of the actions by the defence forces.

She went on to add that in North India the interest in the Balakot strike was understandable but even in places such as Karnataka and Kerala, during elections rallies, people had shown a lot of interest about Balakot attacks. During her speeches, the audience requested her to say more about the attacks. They send small question chits asking whether more such attacks would be mounted on Pakistan, she claimed.

On the Fadnavis government, she added that in Maharashtra the irrigation potential has been vastly increased due to work done by the Centre and the State government. In the last five years, Maharashtra has received about ₹11,700 crore funds for disaster management. But, between 2009-2015, the UPA government provided just ₹3,400 crore.

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