Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the “fire raging in the hearts of countrymen” in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack — in which 40 CRPF men were killed — was in his heart too. Modi on Sunday visited Begusarai in Bihar and Hazaribagh in Jharkhand for the inauguration of several facilities and launch of projects. After paying tributes to CRPF Head Constable Sanjay Kumar Sinha from Masaurhi (Patna) and Constable Ratan Kumar Thakur from Bhagalpur, who were killed in the attack, the PM told a gathering in Begusarai, “Aap deshwashiyon ke dil mein jitni aag hai, wahi aag mere dil me hai (The fire raging in the hearts of countrymen is in my heart too).” Also read | 72 hours since Pulwama attack: All the steps that Modi govt has taken so far At Hazaribagh, he paid tributes to Head Constable Vijay Soreng, who hailed from Jharkhand and was killed in the attack. “Dharti ke sapoot saheed Vijay Soreng ko ek baar phir shraddhanjali arpit karta hoon. Gumla mein maujud unke parivaar ko hriday se naman karta hoon. Unke bacche badi bahaduri se is samay ka saamna kar rahe hain. har kadam par har sthar par ek abhivavak ke roop mein unke parivaron ki dekhbhaal karni hai (I pay homage to the son of the soil, Vijay Soreng. I bow to his family in Gumla from my heart. The children are braving the situation with courage. At every step, we have to take care of the family as a guardian).” At Begusarai, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the entire country was agitated after the “act of cowardice” and that the Prime Minister had made it clear that those responsible for the attack would not be forgiven. In Bihar, the Prime Minister launched several health, energy, electricity and infrastructure projects, including the Patna Metro project. He thanked the people of the country for having chosen a government at the Centre in 2014 that “could take firm decisions and also implement them on the ground”. He said his idea of “New India would run on twin tracks of infrastructure development and elevating quality of life of the deprived by giving them facilities such as pucca houses and gas connection”. The Prime Minister flagged off electric engine trains on five railway lines. “Bihar already has one AIIMS and will have another AIIMS soon. The coming of Patna Metro would make life faster in the state capital. A riverfront along Ganga would further help realise dream of a smart Patna.” In Jharkhand, the Prime Minister inaugurated medical colleges in Palamu, Hazaribagh and Dumka. He also laid the foundation stone for 500-bed hospitals in Hazaribagh and Jamshedpur and inaugrated a host of other social security and development schemes. According to the police, more than a lakh people had turned up at the event. At the start of his speech, the Prime Minister said every time he comes, there seems to be more crowd than the previous time and this gives him the power to work more. He also said smartphones will be given to farmers so that they can know about weather conditions and government schemes. “The idea is to eliminate middlemen.”
