Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged unity against forces harming India during a Dussehra event on Tuesday. Speaking at the DDA Utsav Ground, he said, "We must fight together against the enemies of the country." He linked self-reliance to the goal of a Viksit Bharat, asking citizens to trust their own strength.
PM Narendra Modi calls for unity against forces he says harm India and divide society, while linking self-reliance to the goal of a Viksit Bharat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on political parties and institutions on Tuesday to stand together for the national interest, saying, "We must fight together against the enemies of the country". He spoke at a Dussehra event organised by the Shri Ramlila Committee Indraprastha at the DDA Utsav Ground in IP Extension.
Modi described the "enemies" as forces that harm the nation, people who divide society, and those with "the mindset that hates our culture."
He also said his government's goal is to make India self-reliant, adding: "We must have faith in our resources." He told the gathering that, however severe a crisis, people should not rely on others and should recognise their own strength. Invoking Lord Ram, he said the festival's message went beyond religious celebration, and linked Ram's perseverance to India's Viksit Bharat ambitions.
Similar remarks have drawn political debate before. When Modi made a comparable Dussehra speech in 2023, PTI described his comments as an apparent swipe at opposition parties, whom he has repeatedly accused of dividing the country along caste and regional lines.
However, this time he did not name specific individuals or groups. These remarks come against the backdrop of anti-Chief Election Commissioner protests in Delhi and Mumbai. During the Independence Day speech, following the resignation of the Education Minister, PM Modi made similar remarks targeting "Dimagi Naxals" for trying to create violence and unrest.
Opposition leaders have rejected such charges in the past, calling for the government to be more accountable and open towards criticism. In 2023, Congress leader Pawan Khera accused Modi of being so blind in opposing the Congress that he had started hating India itself.
The government has said it does not treat opponents as enemies. In December 2025, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Modi has always advised party leaders to treat the opposition as political opponents, not enemies.