Amaravati, May 2: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said on Friday that India is safe and will become a developed nation under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing the public meeting organised to mark the re-launch of Amaravati capital works by the Prime Minister, Chandrababu Naidu lavished praise on him.

Strongly condemning the recent terror attack at Pahalgam, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief told PM Modi that the entire country is with him in responding to the attack.

In a rare move, the Chief Minister switched to Hindi to convey support to the Prime Minister on behalf of the people of Andhra Pradesh.

“Modiji hum aapke saath hain, Andhra Pradesh ke 5 crore log aapke saath hain, poora desh aapke saath hai,” said Chandrababu Naidu.

The spirit of patriotism echoed through the huge gathering with the Chief Minister exhorting audience to join him in raising slogans of ‘Vande Mataram’. Many people were seen carrying the national flag.

While PM Modi made no reference to the terror attack or Pakistan, Chief Minister Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, Human Resources Development Minister Nara Lokesh condemned the April 22 attack and paid tributes to those who lost their lives.

The Chief Minister recalled that whenever he used to call on him earlier, the meeting used to be very pleasant but the recent meeting in New Delhi went on a serious note and the reason for which was the Pahalgam attack.

"For the first time I have seen him in so much pain. I saw in Modi ji the anguish that the people of my country lost their lives in the terrorist attack. This is the reason as to why, on behalf of the people of Andhra Pradesh, I am assuring you that we will solidly stand by you in suppressing terrorism and we all will fully support every action that the Centre takes," the Chief Minister said.

Maintaining that a strong India has emerged under the able leadership of PM Modi, Chandrababu Naidu said that when he became the Prime Minister for the first time, the country was ranked 10th in the world economy and he has taken the country from 10th position to fifth position in 11 years.

With PM Modi’s model of welfare, development and empowerment a new India is emerging, the Chief Minister said adding that in these 10 years, people have been empowered and 15 crore people have been brought out of poverty.

The TDP president welcomed the Union Cabinet's decision to conduct a caste census. “Your decision to collect caste and socio-economic data in the census will help in the inclusive empowerment of everyone in all aspects. This will be a game changer for the future of India," Naidu observed.

Pawan Kalyan termed Pahalgam attack one of the darkest days for the entire country.

He said blood spilled in Kashmir created tremors in the entire nation. “I have personally witnessed the pain of the victims. Prime Minister Modi ji is leading the country through these tough times, and he has assured citizens stern action against the perpetrators of terrorism,” the Jana Sena Party leader said.

Lokesh said that Pakistan crossed the limits and committed a blunder by killing innocents. The minister made it clear that Pakistan can cause no harm to India.

“Even if 100 Pakistans come together. They can’t do anything. We have one missile to give answer to 100 Pakistans and that is NaMo (Narendra Modi),” he said amid loud cheers from people.

Lokesh also referred to reports that some Army officials of Pakistan have resigned and some have gone on leave.

He also hailed the Centre’s decision to conduct caste census. He claimed that PM Modi is re-writing history with courage, true to his commitment to empower marginalised and deprived sections.

--IANS

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