Referring to the Pahalgam terror attack, Mr. Modi said those who had set out to wipe sindoor (vermilion) off the forehead of women had been “reduced to dust”.

“Ma Bharti’s servant Modi is standing here with his chest held high. Modi’s mind is cool, but Modi’s blood runs hot. And now, it is sindoor, not blood, which is flowing in my veins.”

He said the armed forces were given full operational freedom and they dismantled Pakistan’s defences by creating a chakravyuh (trap).

In response to the April 22 terror attack, India destroyed nine of Pakistan’s biggest terror hideouts in just 22 minutes, Mr. Modi said. “The world and the enemies of the country have seen what happens when sindoor turns into barood (gunpowder),” he said amid a loud applause from the audience.