NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday vowed to boost social spending, develop infrastructure and make India into a global manufacturing hub as companies shift away from China, as he unveiled his Hindu nationalist party’s election strategy.
Modi hopes to return to power for a third five-year term. He and other leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party unveiled their promises in the world’s largest democracy days before the start of a multi-phase general election.
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Indian prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, talks to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leaders and his cabinet colleagues Home Minister Amit Shah, left, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during an event organized to release their party's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Modi vowed to boost social spending, develop world-class infrastructure, and make India a global manufacturing hub as he unveiled his Hindu nationalist party's election manifesto on Sunday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian prime Minister Narendra Modi, second right, talks to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leaders and cabinet colleagues Home Minister Amit Shah, left, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, right, listens to a speaker at an event organized to release their party's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Modi vowed to boost social spending, develop world-class infrastructure, and make India a global manufacturing hub as he unveiled his Hindu nationalist party's election manifesto on Sunday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, stands with senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, center, at an event in which he released BJP's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024.(AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday vowed to boost social spending, develop infrastructure and make India into a global manufacturing hub as companies shift away from China, as he unveiled his Hindu nationalist party’s election strategy.
Indian prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, talks to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leaders and his cabinet colleagues Home Minister Amit Shah, left, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during an event organized to release their party's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Modi vowed to boost social spending, develop world-class infrastructure, and make India a global manufacturing hub as he unveiled his Hindu nationalist party's election manifesto on Sunday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian prime Minister Narendra Modi, second right, talks to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leaders and cabinet colleagues Home Minister Amit Shah, left, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, right, listens to a speaker at an event organized to release their party's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Modi vowed to boost social spending, develop world-class infrastructure, and make India a global manufacturing hub as he unveiled his Hindu nationalist party's election manifesto on Sunday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda speak during an event organized to release their party's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Modi vowed to boost social spending, develop world-class infrastructure, and make India a global manufacturing hub as he unveiled his Hindu nationalist party's election manifesto on Sunday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, stands with senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, center, at an event in which he released BJP's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024.(AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during an event in which he released his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center, releases his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Standing from L to R with him are BJP's senior leaders Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Party President JP Nadda, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, second right, releases his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Standing from L to R with him are BJP's senior leaders Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Party President JP Nadda. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Modi promised to expand social programs introduced during his party’s 10-year rule, including millions of free homes for the poor, along with health care, cooking gas and free grain. His government has been paying 6,000 rupees ($73) a year to poor farmers.
He said his government’s policies have pulled 250 million people out of poverty since he came to power in 2014. India is the world’s most populous country with over 1.4 billion people. The BJP's president, J.P. Nadda, said less than 1% of Indian people now live in extreme poverty.
India holds its elections on different days in different parts of the country, stretching over weeks. Voting for the country’s parliament will begin on April 19 and run until June 1, and results will be announced on June 4.
Most polls have predicted a victory for Modi and the BJP. But the opposition Congress Party argues that Modi has undermined India’s democracy and favored the interests of the rich.
Modi has been campaigning extensively across the country, promising to expand India's economy to $5 trillion by 2027 from around $3.7 trillion. He also promises to put India on track to become a developed country by 2047, when the country celebrates 100 years of independence from British colonialists.
On Sunday, he said his party would develop India as a hub for the pharmaceutical, energy, semiconductor and tourism industries. He also said India will modernize its infrastructure, including its railways, airways, and waterways. And he said he will seek to increase jobs for young people and access to cheap loans for young entrepreneurs.
Modi is broadly popular in India, where he’s considered a champion of the country’s Hindu majority and has overseen rapid economic growth.
But critics say another term for the BJP could undermine India’s status as a secular, democratic nation, saying its 10 years in power have brought attacks by Hindu nationalists against the country’s minorities, particularly Muslims, and a shrinking space for dissent and free media.
Drummers wearing shirts printed with a portrait of the local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Anirban Ganguly wait to play during an election rally for the forthcoming national parliamentary election in Kolkata, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Indian prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, talks to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leaders and his cabinet colleagues Home Minister Amit Shah, left, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during an event organized to release their party's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Modi vowed to boost social spending, develop world-class infrastructure, and make India a global manufacturing hub as he unveiled his Hindu nationalist party's election manifesto on Sunday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian prime Minister Narendra Modi, second right, talks to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leaders and cabinet colleagues Home Minister Amit Shah, left, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, right, listens to a speaker at an event organized to release their party's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Modi vowed to boost social spending, develop world-class infrastructure, and make India a global manufacturing hub as he unveiled his Hindu nationalist party's election manifesto on Sunday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda speak during an event organized to release their party's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Modi vowed to boost social spending, develop world-class infrastructure, and make India a global manufacturing hub as he unveiled his Hindu nationalist party's election manifesto on Sunday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, stands with senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, center, at an event in which he released BJP's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024.(AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during an event in which he released his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center, releases his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Standing from L to R with him are BJP's senior leaders Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Party President JP Nadda, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, second right, releases his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Standing from L to R with him are BJP's senior leaders Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Party President JP Nadda. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, was shot multiple times and gravely wounded Wednesday while greeting supporters at an event in an attempted assassination that shocked the small country and reverberated across Europe weeks before an election.
Doctors were still fighting for his life several hours after the pro-Russian leader, 59, was hit in the abdomen, Defense Minister Robert Kalina told reporters at the hospital where Fico was being treated.
An operation on Fico was not yet complete, said Kalina, who described his condition as “extraordinarily serious.”
Five shots were fired outside a cultural center in the town of Handlova, nearly 140 kilometers (85 miles) northeast of the capital, government officials said. Fico was shot while attending a meeting of his government in the town of 16,000 that was once a center of coal mining.
A suspect was in custody, and an initial investigation found “a clear political motivation” behind the assassination attempt, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said as he briefed reporters alongside the defense minister.
Fico has long been a divisive figure in Slovakia and beyond, but his return to power last year on a pro-Russian, anti-American message led to even greater worries among fellow European Union members that he would lead his country further from the Western mainstream.
Kicking off his fourth term as prime minister, his government halted arms deliveries to Ukraine, and critics worry that he will lead Slovakia — a nation of 5.4 million that belongs to NATO — to abandon its pro-Western course and follow in the footsteps of Hungary under populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Thousands have repeatedly rallied in the capital and across Slovakia to protest Fico’s policies.
A message posted to Fico’s Facebook account said he was taken to a hospital in Banská Bystrica, 29 kilometers (17 miles) from Handlova, because it would take too long to get to the capital, Bratislava.
The attack comes as political campaigning heats up three weeks ahead of Europe-wide elections to choose lawmakers for the European Parliament. Concern is mounting that populist and nationalists similar to Fico could make gains in the 27-member bloc.
But politics as usual were put aside as the nation faced the shock of the attempt on Fico’s life.
“A physical attack on the prime minister is, first of all, an attack on a person, but it is also an attack on democracy,” outgoing President Zuzana Caputova, a political rival of Fico, said in a televised statement. “Any violence is unacceptable. The hateful rhetoric we’ve been witnessing in society leads to hateful actions. Please, let’s stop it.”
President-elect Peter Pellegrini, an ally of Fico, called the shooting “an unprecedented threat to Slovak democracy. If we express other political opinions with pistols in squares, and not in polling stations, we are jeopardizing everything that we have built together over 31 years of Slovak sovereignty.”
The recent elections that brought Fico and his allies to power have underlined deep social divisions, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, Slovakia’s neighbor to the east.
Gábor Czímer, a political journalist at Slovakian news outlet Ujszo.com, said Fico’s return to power had uncovered signs that “Slovak society is strongly split into two camps” — one that is friendly toward Russia and another that pushes for stronger connections with the EU and the West.
“At the same time, I couldn’t imagine that it would lead to physical violence,” Czímer said.
Estok, the Slovak interior minister, told reporters outside the hospital that the country was “on the edge of a civil war” from the political tension.
“Such hateful comments are being made on social networks today, so please, let’s stop this immediately,” he said.
U.S. President Joe Biden said he was alarmed by the assassination attempt. “We condemn this horrific act of violence,” he said in a statement.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg posted on the social media platform X that he was “shocked and appalled” by the attempt on Fico’s life. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it a “vile attack.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the violence against a neighboring country’s head of government.
“Every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form or sphere,” he said.
Slovakia’s Parliament was adjourned until further notice. The major opposition parties, Progressive Slovakia and Freedom and Solidarity, canceled a planned protest against a controversial government plan to overhaul public broadcasting that they say would give the government full control of public radio and television.
Progressive Slovakia leader Michal Simecka called on all politicians “to refrain from any expressions and steps which could contribute to further increasing the tension.”
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala wished the premier a swift recovery. “We cannot tolerate violence, there’s no place for it in society.”
The Czech Republic and Slovakia formed Czechoslovakia until 1992.
Janicek reported from Prague. Associated Press Writer Justin Spike contributed from Budapest, Hungary.
Policemen stand outside the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is treated in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting after a political event Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile.(AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
Slovakia's Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok speaks during a joint press conference with Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Slovakia Robert Kalinak, left, at the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is treated in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. The shooting Wednesday of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in the town of Handlova following a political event sent shockwaves across Europe three weeks before EU parliament elections are scheduled to be held. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
Slovakia's Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok pulls on his shirt collar after holding a press conference at the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is treated in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. The shooting Wednesday of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in the town of Handlova following a political event sent shockwaves across Europe three weeks before EU parliament elections are scheduled to be held. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Slovakia Robert Kalinak pauses during a press conference at the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is treated in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting after a political event Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile.(AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Slovakia Robert Kalinak speaks during a joint press conference with Slovakia's Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok, right, at the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is treated in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting after a political event Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile.(AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
Slovakia's prime minister was attacked by an armed assailant and hospitalized Wednesday. (AP Graphic)
FILE - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a press conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. Prime Minister Robert Fico returned to power in Slovakia last year. Having previously served twice as prime minister, from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2018, the 59-year-old's third term made him the longest-serving head of government in Slovakia’s history. . (AP Photo/Denes Erdos, File)
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, right, talks to Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. Prime Minister Robert Fico returned to power in Slovakia last year. Having previously served twice as prime minister, from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2018, the 59-year-old's third term made him the longest-serving head of government in Slovakia’s history. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)
Rescue workers wheel Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, to a hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (Jan Kroslak/TASR via AP)
Slovak outgoing president Zuzana Caputova speaks during a press conference in Bratislava, Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024 after Slovak Prime Minister was shot and injured. Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting after a political event Wednesday afternoon, an episode of violence that punctuated his long career spanning decades in politics. (Jaroslav Novak/TASR via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016. Prime Minister Robert Fico returned to power in Slovakia last year. Having previously served twice as prime minister, from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2018, the 59-year-old's third term made him the longest-serving head of government in Slovakia’s history. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, pool, File)
Police arrest a man after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and injured following the cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova, Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Radovan Stoklasa/TASR via AP)
Rescue workers wheel Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, to a hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Jan Kroslak/TASR via AP)
Bodyguards take Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in a car from the scene after he was shot and injured following the cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova, Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Radovan Stoklasa/TASR via AP)
Police arrest a man after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and injured following the cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova, Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Radovan Stoklasa/TASR via AP)
Rescue workers wheel Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, to a hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Jan Kroslak/TASR via AP)
Rescue workers take Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, to a hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Jan Kroslak/TASR via AP)
FILE - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a press conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was wounded in a shooting Wednesday May 15, 2024 and taken to hospital. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos, File)
FILE - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a press conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was wounded in a shooting Wednesday May 15, 2024 and taken to hospital. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos, File)
FILE - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico arrives to a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. Media reports say on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 that Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured in a shooting and taken to hospital. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)
FILE - Former Slovak Prime Minister and head of leftist SMER - Social Democracy party Robert Fico arrives for an election rally in Michalovce, Slovakia, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was wounded in a shooting Wednesday May 15, 2024 and taken to hospital. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
FILE - Leader of the Smer-Social Democracy party Robert Fico addresses the media during a press conference a day after the Slovakia's general election in Bratislava, Sunday, March 1, 2020. Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was wounded in a shooting Wednesday May 15, 2024 and taken to hospital. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico arrives for a cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova, Slovakia, Wednesday, May, 15, 2024. Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and injured after the away-from-home government meeting in Handlova, according to information confirmed by Parliamentary Vice-Chair Lubos Blaha, who suspended the House session. (Radovan Stoklasa/TASR via AP)
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, centre, back to the camera, waves people before the cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova, Slovakia, Wednesday, May, 15, 2024. Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and injured after the away-from-home government meeting in Handlova, according to information confirmed by Parliamentary Vice-Chair Lubos Blaha, who suspended the House session. (Radovan Stoklasa/TASR via AP)
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a press conference after the cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova, Slovakia, Wednesday, May, 15, 2024. Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and injured after the away-from-home government meeting in Handlova, according to information confirmed by Parliamentary Vice-Chair Lubos Blaha, who suspended the House session. (Radovan Stoklasa/TASR via AP)
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, centre, speaks with people before the cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova, Slovakia, Wednesday, May, 15, 2024. Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and injured after the away-from-home government meeting in Handlova, according to information confirmed by Parliamentary Vice-Chair Lubos Blaha, who suspended the House session. (Radovan Stoklasa/TASR via AP)
FILE - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico arrives for the V4 meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. Media reports say on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 that Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured in a shooting and taken to hospital. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
FILE - Chairman of SMER-Social Democracy party Robert Fico arrives at his party's headquarters in Bratislava, Slovakia, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023 the day after an early parliamentary election. Media reports on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 say Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured in a shooting and taken to hospital. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
