BJP hails 11 ‘golden'years of Modi as PM

Hindustan Times

4 hours ago

The 11 years of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government will be written in golden letters because it ushered in changes with wider ramifications on polity, society and economics, and laid the foundations of Viksit Bharat or developed India, Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party chief JP Nadda said on Monday.
Addressing the media on the 11th anniversary of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government and the first anniversary of the coalition's third term, Nadda said Modi changed the country's political culture and made room for performance-driven politics and good governance by implementing a model of 'responsible and accountable' government.
He also criticised the Opposition, underscored that NDA will finish this term and the next, and said God should give Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wisdom.
Separately, Union home minister Amit Shah said that the 11 years proved to be a milestone in the direction of national security, while adding that India now responds to terror attacks by entering the home of terrorists.
'The work that has been dedicated to Amrit Kaal should be written in golden words. It is unprecedented. He (PM) changed the political culture...11 years ago the country had a political culture of appeasement and bifurcating society. PM Modi has reshaped the Indian political culture...it is now a people-led government. Over the past years, we have brought transparency and built a forward-looking, futuristic administration. We are a responsive, responsible and accountable government. And we are proud to say, the government set up a new normal of effective, decisive government and one that brings economic discipline,' Nadda said.
With Operation Sindoor, India's military response to the Pakistan-sponsored April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam dominating the political and security narrative, Nadda said the PM confronted all problems upfront. He said India's doctrine that all terror attacks will be considered an act of war has become 'the new normal.'
'When Uri happened (in 2016) for the first time the PM said, the sacrifice of the soldiers will not go in vain and then surgical strike happened. When Pulwama happened (in 2019) he said you made a big mistake and you will have to bear the brunt of it. And the air strikes happened (in Balakote)...After Pahalgam, he said in Patna, that the response will be beyond imagination...' Nadda said. He was referring to Operation Sindoor.
He credited the government for cracking down on Naxalism. 'Under the Modi government, the number of districts affected by Naxal violence has significantly reduced from 126 to just 18. Top leaders of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) have been eliminated. There was a time when the defence minister used to say 'we don't build roads in border areas so that the enemy can't reach us.' Today, that mindset has changed completely. We have constructed over 8,000 kilometres of border roads, strengthening both our national security and infrastructure in previously neglected areas,' Nadda said.
He said the general elections of 2014 changed the political landscape, and a transparent and futuristic government took office. 'The government before 2014 was marked by scams and corruption and it worked for appeasement. In 2014, there was a shift from negativism to positivism. Today ordinary people are saying Modi hai to mumkin hai (it is possible, if there is Modi),' Nadda said.
He underlined that the PM's policy of 'transform, reform and perform' was seen in all policy matters.
The abrogation of Article 370, that gave the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir its special status; outlawing Triple Talaq, and passage of the Waqf (amendment) Bill were underlined by Nadda as illustrations of the government's bold decisions. He said there was a political narrative that abrogation of Article 370 was not possible. 'Elections in the state (J&K) were known as formality... But the voter turnout was 58% in the Lok Sabha and 63% in the assembly polls.'
'Triple Talaq was not followed even in the Islamic countries. It was anti women… Enactment of the new waqf act was done in the interest of the community and the nation. And we know how a narrative was formed (against it)…' he said.
Nadda also referred to the demonetisation of 2016 and the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill as examples of bold decision making.
Hailing the government for policy interventions on the economic front, Nadda said 'Economy jumped from the 10th to the 4th position. We are the fastest growing economy for the fourth year. Per capita income has increased, our exports have gone up. There is an increase in the number of taxpayers and direct tax collection has increased by 248%. The World Bank calls us the fastest growing economy and the World Economic Forum says India will be the primary engine of growth...'
He said Operation Ganga – launched to repatriate Indians from war-torn Ukraine – also helped evacuate people of other nationalities, and underlined that India supplied free vaccines to over 150 countries during the pandemic. Describing Covid as 'the biggest global crisis', he said no one fought it like India did. 'Here the fight was fought with the people … the PM took people along. In other countries there were protests against the lockdown and vaccines...' Nadda said.
Garib Kalyan (empowerment of the poor) was not a mere slogan, but the government walked the talk by pulling 250 million people out of poverty, he said. He cited the example of demonetisation as an illustration of how people stood by the government even during difficult policy decisions.
Hailing the government's attempts to boost cooperative federalism, he said GST was an example of it. 'Why was it not implemented before? Today the GST collections stand at ₹20.8 lakh crore a year,' he said.
He also took potshots at Rahul Gandhi for making accusations against the election commission and for insinuating that NDA will not last the full term. 'The NDA will complete this term and the next time also. They (Opposition) have no interest in how the country can move ahead. They are involved in conspiracy theories,' he said.
On Gandhi's allegations against EC in the Maharashtra polls, he said, 'God should give him wisdom. It is difficult to understand his motive. In the all party meeting, he said he supports the government, and then goes on to raise questions. This is an irresponsible Opposition,' he said.