Rekha Mahajan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which includes his role as a sensitive leader, working for good governance, a social reformer, an administrator who ends problems of society, and a leader, who strengthens roots to spread branches. Passionate and Progressive, a poet at heart and author of a few books ,tech-savvy ,Narendra Modi is one of the most responsive political leaders in India. Born in a middle class family in Mehsana district of Gujarat in 1950, after completing Masters in Political Science, he entered social youth right at the beginning of his youth in the early seventies.
Narendra Modi worked as the General Secretary of the BJP’s (Bhartiya Janta Party) Gujarat unit since 1988. In 1995, Modi was asked by his party to play a role at the national level – he was appointed as Secretary of the BJP’s national unit at New Delhi. He was promoted as General Secretary (Organisation) in 1998, a post he held until October 2001, when he was chosen to be the chief minister of one of India’s most progressive states, Gujarat. During his stint at the national level, Mr Modi was asked to oversee the affairs of several state level BJP units, including the sensitive and crucial states like Jammu & Kashmir and the equally sensitive north-eastern states besides the state like Haryana, Himachal Pradesh etc. He is being credited for successfully revamping the party organization in several states. While working at the national level,He emerged as an important spokesman for the party and played a key role on several important occasions.
Narendra Modi has the distinction of being the longest serving Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat. He firstly assumed this responsibility in October 2001. Thereafter, he has had sweeping victories in two successive Assembly Elections held in December 2002 and December 2007. Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime Minister born after India’s Independence. He started his second term after the National Democratic Alliance won again in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. On 6th December 2020, Modi became 4th longest serving Non-Congress Prime Minister.
With a motive of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’, Modi has ushered in a paradigm shift in governance that has led to inclusive, development-oriented and corruption-free governance. The Prime Minister has worked with speed and scale to realise the aim of Antyodaya, or ensuring last-mile delivery of schemes and services. He is a visionary leader who never thinks in fragments but thinks in entirety, thinks far, and fulfils what he thinks. In every scheme that PM Modi brings, the element of public participation is very high and it is because of immense public participation that he has got so much success. Modi has also ended politics of appeasement, as the schemes made for crores of poor citizens of the country, no one can allege that there has been any discrimination among its beneficiaries, everyone has got equal benefits.
Long Awaited Reforms: Narendra Modi is credited to have introduced some long-awaited reforms in the country. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was in the pipeline for 17 years before it became a major tax reform in 2017. The rollout of GST through a special session of Parliament remains a major highlight of the Modi government. The Modi government enacted the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) law in 2016.
Social Schemes: Swachh Bharat campaign is one of the big socio-political achievements of the Modi government. Ujjwala Yojna ,under which poor women get free LPG Cylinder connection per household .Under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna more than 35 crore Jan Dhan accounts were opened. These accounts have not only banked the unbanked but also opened the doors for other avenues of empowerment. The JAM trinity (Jan Dhan- Aadhaar- Mobile) has led to elimination of middle men and ensured transparency and speed, powered by technology. 18,000 villages that were without electricity even after 70 long years of Independence have been electrified under Saubhaya Yojna. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, caring for the girl child, fighting female foeticide and and empowering women through education. ‘Housing For All’ provides affordable housing to all, was launched by the Modi government in 2015. As per the available data till end of March 2020, more than 2 crore people have been provided homes under the scheme. Under Kisan Samman Nidhi Rs, 6,000 is directly transferred to the bank account of farmers in three instalments of Rs 2,000 per year. On 29 July 2020, the first National Education Policy (NEP) of the 21st century came into being after 34 years with an aim to develop all aspects of the existing Indian education system. The policy will be completely implemented by 2026. Modi government fulfilled some long standing demands .The whole country knew that as long as there was Article 370, the association of Jammu and Kashmir with India was not permanent. On August 5, 2019, the government under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi got rid of this article. Moreover, construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, abolition of Triple Talaq provided life of dignity to our Muslim women. Modi believes in the fact that good infrastructure is the driver of economic development. He therefore, paid utmost attention on physical and social infrastructure and involved private sector in their development. The rapid and qualitative development of ports, roads, railways, LNG terminals, gas distribution and water distribution networks and other infrastructure facilities are being discussed nationwide. Setting up of statewide gas grid and water grid are exemplary achievements in infrastructure. He has also created excellent infrastructure at tourist and religious places. His biggest contribution is that he worked to strengthen the roots of democracy in the country. Prime Minister is a sensitive person who has immense concern for the Dalit, poor, tribal, and backward people of the country and while taking every decision, the welfare of the poor takes precedence.
Modi a ‘passionate and dynamic’ leader who has made the whole world take note of the emergence of new India. Even during the pandemic, his confidence and conviction have inspired and galvanized the entire nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to vaccinate everyone from 18 years onward is not only an extraordinarily bold move, but completely do-able too. In an unprecedented display of political will power and conviction, India so far administered over 193 crore doses of COVID vaccine. The country has also managed to vaccinate most of its adolescent population between 15 to 18 years of age. India has also been successfully running its campaign for precaution dose to its adult citizens. During COVID pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ran the world’s biggest food security program amidst a full-fledge lockdown in 2020, where-in every month, for 9 months in a row, 810 million people, including daily-wage earners and migrant workers, were given free food grains. Basically, every month, for 9 months at a stretch, India fed a population that was almost 2.5 times, the size of US in 2020 and likewise, the scheme is underway in 2021 too. The scheme was then extended during the second wave and was extended for another six months till March 2022.
India developed indigenous vaccines in the shortest time shows PM’s commitment under Atmanirbhar Bharat .The country not just vaccinated its population but has also extended a helping hand to neighboring nations by providing vaccines through the Vaccine Maitri scheme.
PM Narendra Modi is such an idealistic leader who only thinks about the interest and pride of the country. India today has the courage to punish the enemy by entering their territory to conduct air strikes and surgical strikes. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, operation Devi Shakti was launched in Afghanistan to rescue stranded Indians after the Taliban took over Afghanistan. More than 700 people were evacuated from Afghanistan. Another key achievement of the government has been the rescue operation carried out in war-hit Ukraine. The central government safely evacuated around 23,000 students, including some foreign nationals, under Operation Ganga. Four union ministers were sent as special envoys to the neighbouring nations of Ukraine to monitor the rescue operations. As India marks its 75th year of independence the government has launched an umbrella programme ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ that is being celebrated across the country recognizing all those who contributed to India’s struggle for freedom. The campaign highlighted contribution of unsung heroes of the nations. Prime Minister made Amrit Mahotsav a festival of people and at present, every child walks around with tricolour in his hand and the feeling of patriotism awakens in his mind. Special attention has been paid to India’s rich history and culture. India is home to the world’s largest statue, the State of Unity, a tribute to Sardar Patel. On 31st October 2018, PM inaugurated the statue on the occasion of 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. On 5th November 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the 12-foot high statue of Guru Adi Shankaracharya at Kedarnath. On January 23, 2022, PM unveiled a statue of Neta Subhash Chandra Bose on the occasion of his 125th birth anniversary at India Gate. On February 5, 2022 PM inaugurated the ‘Statue of Equality’ commemorating the 11th-century Bhakti Saint Sri Ramanujacharya who promoted the idea of equality in all aspects of living including faith, caste and creed. March 6, 2022 unveiled the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on the premises of Pune Municipal Corporation. The statue is made up of 1,850 Kg gunmetal and is about 9.5-feet tall. Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a 108 ft statue of Lord Hanuman in Gujarat’s Morbi on April 16, 2022. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya in New Delhi. Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya (Prime Minister Museum) is dedicated to the former PMs of the country. Narendra Modi’s clarion call for marking 21st June as ‘International Day of Yoga’ received an overwhelming response at the UN. In a first, a total of 177 Nations across the world came together and passed the resolution to declare 21st June as the ‘International Day of Yoga at the UN.’ Modi has been conferred various honours including the highest civilian honour of Saudi Arabia ‘Sash of King Abdulaziz’. Modi has been also been conferred the top awards of Russia, Palestine (Grand Collar of the State of Palestine), Afghanistan (Amir Amanullah Khan Award), UAE (Zayed Medal), Russia (St Andrew Award) and Maldives (Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen). In 2018, PM received the prestigious Seoul Peace Prize for his contribution to peace and development. Recognising his efforts towards environmental conservation, PM Modi was honoured with the United Nations ‘Champions of the Earth Award.’ Forbes Magazine ranked him the 9th Most Powerful person in the world in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2016, a wax statue of PM Narendra Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussaud Wax Museum London. According to a survey by Global Decision intelligence Company Morning Consult PM Modi is the world most Popular leader. The survey was carried out between August 16 and August23 this year and at least 75 per cent of Indians surveyed by the Morning Consult believe that PM Narendra Modi is steering India towards the right direction and belief in his leadership remained intact even during pandemic. As a leader, this vision and resolve come only when every moment of his life and every particle of his body is dedicated to the cause of India, we all have got such a dedicated leader in Prime Minister Modi. Five decades of public life and more than 20 years of governance by becoming a ‘Sewak’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s steadfast resolve and loyalty to take the nation on the fast path of development is the testimony of his devotion which has earned him the respect of the people. When a person leaves his family, dedicates every moment of his life to the welfare of 130 crore people, then only it is possible to become Narendra Modi.
(The author is Secretary, BJP Jammu & Kashmir).
