Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign speech asking first-time voters to dedicate their votes to the veer shaheed of Pulwama and the veer jawans who carried out the air strike in Pakistan’s Balakot has drawn its fair share of controversy. Modi’s remark had come despite an advisory from the Election Commission asking political parties to desist from “indulging in any political propaganda involving activities of defence forces.”
On the election trail in Odisha, we asked first-time voters studying at some of the state’s top colleges about what they thought of the prime minister’s remark, and whether they felt it was a justified statement to make.
Modi’s Balakot Comment: Right or Wrong?
In his rally in Bhubaneswar on 16 April, Modi had asked the crowd, “Should India stay in fear of terrorists? Should our armed forces have a free hand or not?”
More significantly though, in Maharashtra’s Latur district, Modi had remarked on 9 April, “I want to tell the first-time voters: can your first vote be dedicated to the veer jawans (valiant soldiers) who carried out the air strike in Pakistan? Can your first vote be dedicated to the veer shaheed (brave martyrs) of Pulwama?”
In this video, the students of Ravenshaw University in Cuttack and Xavier University Bhubaneswar’s Harirajpur campus respond to Modi’s request.
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