Pakistan will cease to exist if it indulges in misadventure against India: Chouhan

Ambikapur: Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said Pakistan will cease to exist on the world map if it resorts to any misadventure against India.

He also urged the people of Chhattisgarh to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'one nation, one election', saying that frequent polls hinder the country's progress and cause a burden to the exchequer.

The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare and Rural Development was addressing 'Mor Awas Mor Adhikar', a Chhattisgarh government's programme in Ambikapur, the headquarter of Surguja district, to allocate houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) to the state.

Chouhan hailed 'Operation Sindoor', India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack wherein 26 people were killed.

"Today, everyone should salute the Indian Army, their valour, bravery and accurate aim and the precise strategy of PM Modi. By completely destroying the training bases of terrorists who wiped off 'sindoor' of our daughters, India has shown to the world that we will not mess with anyone, but if someone messes with us, we will not spare them," he said.

"Pakistan used to show a lot of arrogance but it could not stand even for three days. PM Modi gave a free hand to our soldiers to take action. More than a hundred terrorists were killed and their bases were turned into heaps of rubble. Even today, the PM has said that it (Operation Sindoor) has not been stopped yet, it has only been suspended. If Pakistan fires a 'goli' (bullet), India will respond with a 'gola' (shell). If Pakistan resorts to any misadventure, it will cease to exist on the world map. This is India's valour", Chouhan said.

India is a sovereign nation and we take decisions on our own. In three days, Pakistan's army bent down on its knees and begged the world to save it. Hence the ceasefire was put in place. But India takes its own decisions. I once again salute such a prime minister who has worked to enhance the honour of India in the world and I salute the valour of the army, he said.

Further appealing to people to support the idea of 'one nation, one election', the Union minister said, preparations for elections take place for five years, 12 months and 365 days.

After the Lok Sabha polls, assembly elections were held in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, and Jharkhand. Then Delhi's 'dangal' came, wherein Arvind Kejriwal suffered a massive defeat. Now elections will take place in Bihar and then in West Bengal, he said.

"These frequent elections hamper development works while time and money of the country are also spent unnecessarily...Tell the political parties to amend the Constitution so that Lok Sabha and state assembly elections can be held simultaneously in 5 years so that we can serve the people for four-and-a-half years," he said.

He asked people to take two pledges. "First is to keep the country's honour, respect and interest on the top. If needed, we will sacrifice even the last drop of blood, but will not let the country's honour and respect be compromised. Secondly, by amending the Constitution, elections should be held simultaneously once every 5 years."

Chouhan also hit out at the erstwhile Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government in Chhattisgarh for allegedly failing to implement PMAY in the state and accusing it of snatching the houses of lakhs of poor people.

The double engine government of PM Modi at the Centre and Vishnu Deo Sai in the state have fulfilled the promise to allocate houses to the poor. We don't just raise slogans or give speeches, we fulfil what we promise, he said.

"Today, I have come to fulfil the promise. With the blessings of the PM, today the sanction letter of more than 3,00,700 houses was handed over to CM Sai. As per the survey list of Awas Plus 2018, now all people have been covered under the scheme," he said.

However, there is no need to get scared as a fresh survey has been started and those who were not included in the previous list will be provided benefits of the housing scheme after physical verification, he added.

A new India is emerging under the leadership of Modi, he said, adding that it was a government of the poor, farmers and villagers.

The minister also announced to increase the labour budget under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) for Chhattisgarh as per the state government's request.