Vadnagar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 25 years in public life should be seen as a period of welfare for the poor and foundation-laying for India’s prosperity.
He was speaking after inaugurating the ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’ in Vadnagar and flagging off a bike rally to Varanasi to mark Modi’s birthday. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde were also present.
Born on September 17, 1950, in Vadnagar in Gujarat’s Mehsana district, Modi turned 76 on Thursday. He completes 25 uninterrupted years in public office on October 7, having first taken the oath as Gujarat chief minister in 2001 before becoming prime minister in 2014.
“It is my good fortune to be visiting PM Modi’s ancestral village-his birthplace-on his birthday. Today, I pray at the feet of Hatkeshwar Mahadev for PM’s long and healthy life. A journey is set to commence from here shortly. As part of a ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’, this journey will travel from Vadnagar to Varanasi,” he said.
“A total of 600 bikers- 300 starting from here and another 300 from Varanasi today-will traverse seven states and pass through numerous villages, spreading the message of PM’s 25 years of service. Since the country gained independence, no other politician has set a record of serving as a state leader and the national leader for a continuous period of 25 years,” he added.
The Union Home Minister praised PM Modi, saying that he successfully upheld the mantra of ‘India First’ and worked tirelessly for 25 years to steer the country in a direction of growth and development.
“To realise the vision we hold for a Viksit Bharat by 2047, we need countless young people who will steer their lives along the path shown by PM Narendra Modi for the next three generations, successfully upholding the mantra of ‘India First’. PM Modi has dedicated himself to the service of the nation, ceaselessly and without taking a single day off for 25 years. Not a single day has passed without him working continuously for 16 to 18 hours,” he said.
Shah underlined various key accomplishments of PM Modi, noting that he has lifted 25 crore people out of poverty, enacted welfare schemes providing housing, electricity, tap water, toilets, gas cylinders, 5 kg of free monthly food grains, and up to Rs 5 lakh in medical coverage to 80 crore citizens.
“It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who accomplished the feat of lifting 25 crore people out of poverty within this period. PM Narendra Modi has successfully delivered housing, electricity, tap water connections, free monthly grain (5 kg per person), medical coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh, toilets, and gas cylinders to these 80 crore people,” he said.
Highlighting PM Modi’s “Pradhan Sevak” remark from the Red Fort, Shah hailed the Prime Minister for bringing clarity to national security policy and eliminating administrative scams.
“PM Narendra Modi resolved the ambiguity surrounding national security policy; he tackled the issues of irregularities, scams, and corruption by establishing good governance and ensuring a clean administration. For the first time, a Prime Minister, speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort, referred to himself as the ‘Pradhan Sevak’, thereby upholding the true spirit of the Constitution,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari urged the people of the country to light a lamp (diya) on the evening of September 17 (today) on the occassion of Prime Minister Modi’s birthday.
In an X post, she said, “Let us all together, on the birthday of the glorious and Prime Minister @narendramodi, light the ‘Lamp of Blessings’ in our homes and courtyards from 6 to 7 PM on 17 September, to express our gratitude for his 25 years of public service and national service,” he said.
