Jagat Prakash Nadda
Today the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre completed its successful 8 years under dynamic and decisive leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The last 8 years have been a trend-setter for India where the nation has broken various shackles and has moved on from the politics of casteism, dynasty, corruption and appeasement to the politics of development, growth, unity and nationalism. This remarkable journey has been that of strengthening democracy in its real sense by empowering marginalized sections of our society – from poor to backward classes, Dalits and minorities, tribals and oppressed classes to women and youth. It has also been a journey of changing the Indian psyche – from ‘nothing is possible in this country’ to ‘everything is possible if government and the people have the will and commitment’. It is the commitment of the 135 crore Indians towards the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which today reflects on the ground. It also proves that if the leader has a policy and programme, intention and dedication, every challenge can be addressed, every problem can be solved.
The nation has not just changed under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a new chapter of remarkable growth and fast-paced development is being written. As the nation celebrates ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown firm resolve and resilience to address and solve the nation’s challenges and problems head-on. Today the eight years of changing India reflects in every Indian’s eyes. In the last eight years our poverty rate has reduced from 22 per cent to 10 per cent, while extreme poverty has fallen below 1 per cent and has remained static at 0.8 per cent. In the last eight years our per capita income has doubled while our foreign reserves have also increased two-fold. In the past 70 years since Independence only 6.37 lakh primary schools were constructed, but under the Narendra Modi government 6.53 lakh schools have so far been built. In the last eight years our literacy rate has improved by 6 per cent, which is an exemplary achievement.
Under Narendra Modi’s Government, 15 new AIIMS have been sanctioned, out of which 10 have become operational while 5 are in its advanced stage of construction. Similarly, the number of doctors has jumped by over 12 lakhs. In the past 8 years India has created the second largest road network in the world, while our solar and wind power generation capacity has doubled in the past five years. Year after year India has broken records in foodgrains production. In 2012-13, our food-grain production was 255 million ton which increased to 316.06 million tonnes in 2021-22, which is highest-ever in our history. Despite global economic slowdown due to the COVID pandemic, India has managed to clock a record in exports at $418 billion in the last financial year.
Under Narendra Modi government new benchmarks have been made, several milestones have been crossed in the service of the nation, good governance and welfare of the poor. As India bravely battled the Corona pandemic, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who led from the front. He not only gave India not one but two ‘Made In India’ vaccines, he opened government coffers to provide free rations to over 80 crore Indians for the past two years with an expenditure of Rs 3.40 lakh crore. While India carried out the world’s largest vaccination drive free of cost, the food distribution programme is also the world’s largest food distribution programme. The world has hailed these two important feats of India. There are several firsts that are associated with the last eight years of the Narendra Modi government. Common man got free medical insurance coverage through Ayushman Bharat Yojna, while farmers and labourers got monthly pension. For the first time farmers started getting the benefit of Kisan Samman Nidhi for farming purposes, while it was our government which formed a policy for organic farming. Then there are several path breaking schemes — Jan Dhan Yojna, Ujjawala Yojna, Kisan Samman Nidhi, Ayushman Bharat Yojna, Gareeb Kalyan Yojna, Swachh Bharat Yojna, Awas Yojna, Jal Jivan Mission, Digital India, Gram Vikas Yojna, GST – which has not only empowered citizens but also strengthened our economy and made India resilient and self-reliant. This is the reason behind India’s robust and strong social and economic system despite harsh global conditions. Schemes like Atmanirbhar Bharat, Vocal for Local, Gati Shakti Yojna, PLI (production linked incentive) have catapulted India into the top of global world order.
In previous regimes what was lacking was the willpower to deal with some of our perennial problems, and everything was left to fate. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s innovative and decisive approach in dealing with the problems made all the difference. It was due to the firm resolve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that led to the scrapping of Article 370, construction of grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya, abolition of rigorous triple Talaq, passing of CAA and surgical strikes on terror camps across the border. It is the unique style of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which led to the identification of 1,800 old laws which had become redundant, and so far 1,450 of them have been scrapped. No previous government had thought about it. This led to making lives simpler for citizens and improved efficiency of the government. Foreign policy is one field where India has excelled under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We have created several records and crossed new milestones. India’s foreign policy has been reworked in India’s advantage. From Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan to Ukraine, India has shown the world how effective foreign relations help in saving lives of citizens. India has also led from the front when it comes to the issues of terrorism, global warming, Global Solar Alliance, effectiveness of Quad and our strong relations with our neighbours. Our foreign policy has always been spot on. Eight years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been the period of India’s cultural resurgence. While Yoga and Ayurveda has caught the world’s attention, India’s lost cultural and religious icons have regained its glory which includes transformation of our holiest places like Kashi Vishwanath Dham and Kedarnath Dham. It is just the beginning as India awaits to reclaim its glorious history.
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi the Bharatiya Janata Party has also broken various records and reached new heights. Today BJP is the world’s biggest political organization with over 18 crore members. In 2014 the BJP and its allies had governments in 7 states, and today we have our governments in 18 states. For the first time BJP crossed 100 MP-mark in Rajya Sabha. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi the BJP broke electoral records in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Goa, Manipur and Tripura. The secret behind the success of the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the trust and blessings our party has won of the 135 crore Indians. People across the country today know that there is a government at the Centre which works for their welfare and is committed to ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas’. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP is committed to transform India, make India a country where all are one, all are happy and prosperous. It is time again to take a pledge to work hard and commit ourselves to make India a happy and prosperous nation.
(The author is National President, Bharatiya Janata Party).