Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the Congress should tell the nation who prevented India`s military response after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.
“A Congress leader, who has also been Union home minister, has said that a country prevented India`s military retaliation post-26/11 Mumbai terror attack in 2008. The party should clarify,” PM Modi said, reported the PTI.
PM Modi was addressing a public gathering after inaugurating the phase one of Navi Mumbai International Airport near Mumbai.
“This weakness of Congress strengthened terrorists, he said.
The nation has the right to know who stopped India from going ahead with a military retaliation after the Mumbai terror attack, he added.
“For us, nothing is more important than the safety and security of our nation and its citizens,” PM Modi said, referring to Operation Sindoor launched after the Pahalgam terror attack, according to the PTI.
PM Modi said his government`s target is to make India the global aviation`s Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hub by the end of this decade.
Due to UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) Yojana, lakhs of people have taken to the skies for the first time in the past decade, fulfilling their dreams, he said.
In 2014, there were only 74 airports in India, but now there are more than 160, he said.
The vision of the Viksit Bharat envisages `gati aur pragati` (momentum and progress), PM Modi said.
PM Modi on Wednesday inaugurated the first phase of the Navi Mumbai International Airport, a major infrastructure project built at a cost of Rs 19,650 crore. The airport, spread over 1,160 hectares, is set to ease air traffic congestion in Mumbai and significantly increase India’s aviation capacity.
Speaking at the event, PM Modi called it a historic moment for the city.
He said that Navi Mumbai International Airport and underground metro set to transform travel and connectivity in Mumbai.
The airport will handle 90 million passengers per annum and the cargo of 3.25 million metric tonnes per annum after it is fully completed. The NMIA is spread over 1160 hectares (2866 acres). Phase one facilitates providing 20 million passengers per annum and 0.5 million metric tonnes of cargo capacity. The airport’s ownership is held by Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd, comprising MIAL (74 per cent) and CIDCO (26 per cent). The Director General of Civil Aviation granted an Aerodrome Licence to NMIA on September 30.
(with PTI inputs)
