Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], April 30 (ANI): Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Wednesday asserted that PM Narendra Modi has consistently upheld the operational autonomy of the Indian armed forces after the Prime Minister gave operational freedom to the armed forces after Pahalgam attack.

Referring to the brutal killings in Pahalgam, Chandrasekhar, while speaking to ANI, emphasised that justice for the victims remains paramount, and the military has been granted full freedom to determine the timing and manner of any retaliatory action against Pakistan.

'Our Prime Minister has always been giving the operational autonomy to the armed forces. Unlike the 1962 war where Pandit Nehru told the Air Force not to be deployed. Our Prime Minister has been very clear that the nation's interest would be kept first. The people who were killed brutally in Pahalgam, justice for them will be kept at first. The Indian armed forces will be given complete operational freedom to decide time, place and the method, when this punishment will be meted out to Pakistan,' Chandrasekhar said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday chaired a meeting which was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan and three service chiefs.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was also present at the meeting.

The meeting took place days after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on April 23, following the terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam in which 26 people were killed.

Government sources said the Prime Minister affirmed that it is India's national resolve to deal a crushing blow to terrorism.

The sources said that PM Modi expressed complete faith and confidence in the professional abilities of the Indian Armed Forces.

They said that PM Modi stated that the armed forces have complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets, and timing of India's response.

The meeting, chaired by PM Modi on Tuesday, was attended by Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, and Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg PM on Monday. The meeting came a day after Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan briefed the Defence Minister on some decisions in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.

The government has said that the terrorists responsible for the attack and the conspirators behind it will face severe punishment.

This came in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent civilians, including one Nepalese national, and injured many. (ANI)