By Kavita Mistry 
New Delhi: As the Indian Army said it had struck terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir early on Wednesday under Operation Sindoor, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “56-inch chest” man, saying India under him has avenged the 26 lives lost in the Pahalgam terror attack.
The BJP-led Centre has called Operation Sindoor a “measured” and “non-escalatory” response, targeting terror camps and not military bases in Pakistan. Islamabad, however, has blamed New Delhi for hitting civilian areas and killing and injuring civilians.
At a Wednesday press conference in Delhi, the presence of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and IAF Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, along with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, sent a message that women are behind Operation Sindoor that avenged widowed Hindu women in Pahalgam, where terrorists had targeted just the men. With the women belonging to different religions, it was also a message of Hindu-Muslim unity and that Muslim women would also protect Hindu women.
Senior BJP leaders such as party national president J.P. Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah took a more aggressive stance, as has the party from its official ‘X’ handle.
After Operation Sindoor, BJP’s posts said, “Promised. DELIVERED!”, “Justice was done in Pahalgam!”, “Not just once, but again and again… I will enter the house and kill you!”, and “…I told you, I will kill them one by one!”, among other statements.
In a more direct reference seemingly to Modi, the BJP’s Arunachal unit posted, “He heard. India answered. This is New India—where every drop of blood is avenged.”
Calling the operation “Bharat’s response to the brutal killing of our innocent brothers in Pahalgam”, Shah wrote on X: “Proud of our armed forces … The Modi government is resolved to give a befitting response to any attack on India and its people. Bharat remains firmly committed to eradicating terrorism from its roots.”
Similarly, J.P. Nadda wrote on X: “India’s message on Pahalgam—If you tease us, we won’t let you go. Prime Minister Modi said that those who attack the soul of India will be severely punished. India is both capable and determined to uproot terrorism from its roots. We will eradicate the scourge of terrorism.”
‘Modi, a lion, has dug Pakistan’s grave’
Facing Opposition ire for its delay in a counter-attack after Pahalgam and nod to the caste census decision instead, the BJP has finally given a “befitting reply”, say BJP leaders and handles while hailing PM Modi for teaching Pakistan a lesson.
BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said PM Modi, who “sat on India’s throne”, has powers akin to that of “Pakistan’s baap (father)” and that he has dug a grave for the country. “It is now proved that under the strong leadership of the successful PM Modi Ji, Indian forces are capable of giving a befitting reply to every terrorist attack,” Chugh wrote in another post.
“India’s message is clear—bullets will now be answered with shells,” a separate post by the BJP national general secretary said.
Taking to X, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who earlier called on the Centre to enter and support Balochistan insurgents in Pakistan, posted, “This is the country under the leadership of 56-inch lion Modi Ji … not a hair of our Army to be harmed.”
Criticising opposition leaders and others doubting the Modi-led government, Dubey said, “The infiltrators sitting in India, on social media, YouTube, should also spread confusion after careful consideration, otherwise?”
Referring to Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, initially, claiming they had Indian soldiers as prisoners of war before withdrawing his statement, Dubey added, “Pakistanis lie, pants will get wet in two minutes.”
BJP’s ex-secretary Sunil Deodhar and BJP organisation general secretary in Telangana Chandrashekhar said India has answered in a language Pakistan understands. Deodhar said on X that India has paid back for the sindoor wiped off women in Pahalgam.
Chandrashekhar tagged the video of a Pahalgam victim’s wife, who says on-camera that India’s response to Pakistan has kept her family’s faith alive. “Sindoor in return for Sindoor“, the Telangana BJP leader wrote in another post.
As BJP amplified the impact of India’s response by stoking nationalist sentiments with its posts, the party’s Haryana unit reminded people that it was only the start.
BJP’s sindoor politics
Sources in the government said PM Modi did not just monitor the entire Operation Sindoor but also approved the operation’s name.
Amit Malviya, in-charge of the BJP’s National Information & Technology Dept, posted on X, “#OperationSindoor is deeply evocative. Sindoor is sacred for Hindu women, holding deep cultural and spiritual significance. The terrorists had targeted innocent Hindu men in Pahalgam for their faith, brutally killing them in cold blood in front of their wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters.”
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has avenged this heinous attack. I am proud of him, as I am of our Armed Forces. Never forget what matters most is political will—something India lacked after 26/11,” he added.
Emphasising the messaging behind Wednesday’s press conference and commending the “two fearless women” who briefed the world media about the operation, Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote in an X post, “This isn’t just a briefing, it’s a bold declaration. Our women lead from the front, in every battle, every mission. India’s strength is limitless, and its sons and daughters power it.”
Two weeks ago, on 22 April, an image of a Hindu woman sitting in silent shock beside her husband’s lifeless body went viral on social media, becoming a powerful symbol of the devastating terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam. The woman, Himanshi Narwal, had married 26-year-old naval officer Vinay Narwal less than a week ago. The couple was on their honeymoon when the four TRF terrorists shot at tourists and killed Vinay.
Speaking to ThePrint, a senior BJP leader said, “India responded with two political objectives. The entire country was in anger and pain, and it was the duty of the government to give a befitting reply. Manmohan Singh did not opt for military action after the 26/11 Mumbai attack, resulting in the public perception that he led a weak government. Then, he lost. PM Modi did not fear taking a tough decision, whether in Uri or Balakot, or after Pahalgam. Our party’s foundation lies in nationalism. When the country asked for tough action, we met their emotions—an action that would bind the country, as Balakot had.”
“This time, the terrorists killed Hindu civilians, and a picture of Himanshi Narwal touched the entire India. So, the operation name was to show that under the Modi government, no one can touch the vermilion of Hindu women,” the leader added.