FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI | SPORTS PERSPECTIVE Committed to nation-building WORLD NATION Backlash forces Vijay govt to revoke RTI exemption Monday, 28 September 2026 Russia rejects German calls to ease ‘dangerous’ escalation Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Asian Games Day 8: Ancy, Sarvesh lead 7-medal haul as India reach 37 Page 12 PM marks surgical strikes anniversary, urges zero tolerance for terrorism BJP launches ‘Halla Bol’ over Oppn campaign against ECI STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Lucknow, 27 September Over the past decade ~ from the Balakot airstrike to Operation Sindoor ~ India has repeatedly sent a clear message: if terrorists dare to cast an evil eye on India, they will be met with a befitting response. New Delhi, 27 September P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday addressed the nation through the 138th edition of his monthly radio programme, Mann Ki Baat, highlighting the upcoming 10th anniversary of the 2016 surgical strikes, India’s response to terrorism, the ongoing Census, and a range of initiatives involving environmental conservation, nutrition, rural livelihoods, sports and cultural heritage. As he noted that a decade has passed since the surgical strikes on 28-29 September 2016, Mr Modi described the military operation as a defining moment in India’s counter-terrorism response. “Ten years ago, on 28-29 September 2016, the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes on terrorist hideouts in Pakistan,” Mr Modi said. “The surgical strike boldly demonstrated to the entire NARENDRA MODI PRIME MINISTER world a new example of India’s counter-terrorism policy,” he said, adding that the operation was a decisive response to the suffering caused by terrorist attacks. Referring to subsequent military operations, including the 2019 Balakot airstrike and Operation Sindoor, Mr Modi said India had repeatedly conveyed that terrorism would not go unanswered. “Over the past decade ~ from the Balakot airstrike to Operation Sindoor ~ India has repeatedly sent a clear message: if terrorists dare to cast an evil eye on India, they will be met with a befitting response,” he said. The PM said India had suffered for decades because of terrorist attacks, recalling the 13 September 2008, serial blasts in Delhi and the 26 November 2008, terror attacks in Mumbai. He said that in the past, demands for action against Pakistan following terror attacks often went unheeded, with authorities waiting for time to pass. “Today, India pursues a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, and we are witnessing the results of that,” he said. Mr Modi also recalled the 11 September 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, which completed 25 years this month. Expressing condolences to the families of those killed, he said Indians were among the largest groups of foreign victims of the attacks on the World Trade Centre. Mr Modi said that after becoming Prime Minister in 2014, he had visited New York to pay tribute to the victims. Turning to the Census, Mr Modi said the first phase of the exercise was nearing completion across states and Union Territories, with information relating to more than 32 crore families already recorded. He said census work was continuing in remote and snow-covered areas, including Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand. “The Census is a national responsibility for all of us,” Mr Modi said. The Prime Minister also paid tribute to former Vishwa Hindu Parishad international working president Ashok Singhal on his birth centenary, which falls on 27 September. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE The BJP on Sunday launched a nationwide “Halla Bol” against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the INDIA alliance over their allegations against the Election Commission, with party chief ministers and state leaders in Opposition-ruled states accusing them of "conspiring to malign the country’s constitutional institutions and spreading lies According to a statement issued by the party, “the EC has given a point-by-point and fact-based clarification on all the fabricated allegations levelled by the Opposition, thereby setting the record straight. Despite this, the Congress and its allies, frustrated by their repeated electoral defeats, remain determined to undermine constitutional propriety in an attempt to conceal their failures." “From north to south and east to west, this misinformation aimed at weakening the country’s democratic framework and creating anarchy is being strongly countered across the nation," they added. Among those who condemned the Opposition's campaign were Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari. In states where BJP/NDA governments are not in power, respective state BJP presidents or Leaders of the Opposition held press conferences. Fadnavis launched a sharp attack on Rahul Gandhi, saying, “No votes have been stolen; Rahul Gandhi’s mind has been stolen.” Adityanath accused Opposition parties of "spreading confusion regarding the SIR", while Sarma described them as an “alliance of defeated people”. Karnataka Legislative Assembly Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka and Legislative Council Leader of the Opposition Chalavadi Narayanaswamy attacked the Congress, accusing it of “fabricating a story to conceal its failures.”