Birthday Tribute: Unflinching resolve Unwavering patience

Today is the 69th birthday of our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. Since his early childhood, Modiji has devoted himself to the service of the nation. As a youth, he showed a strong inclination towards working for the upliftment of the downtrodden. Born into a poor family, Modiji had a tough childhood, which motivated him to work for the poor and help them break the shackles of poverty.

Apart from his devotion towards helping one and all, and serving the humanity passionately, Modiji is also known for his organisational abilities and political fortitude. In 1987, when he was made party’s organisation secretary for Gujarat, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) had only 12 MLAs in the State legislature. But Modiji’s organisational skills and political deft made it possible for the party to capture 67 seats in the 1990 assembly elections. 

Then in 1995, BJP won 121 seats in Gujarat and formed government in the State. Since then, BJP has remained undefeated and its leaders have been continuously serving the people of Gujarat. Today, BJP is a force to reckon with in Gujarat and this has been made possible only due to the organisational base created by Modiji in the State and the development works he initiated during his chief ministership.

Modiji also worked as BJP’s national general secretary and had then sowed the seeds of party’s pan-India growth. Today, BJP is the world’s largest political party, and it is all due to the vision of Modiji.

During 1990s, I, too, got the chance to work for the party under Modiji’s leadership in Gujarat. I remember that there was an exhaustive and elaborate party membership campaign being run in Gujarat. The way Modiji used to organise membership drives down to the grassroots level was not just a learning experience for the party workers, but it was enlightening for me as well.

When Modiji became the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001, it paved the way for changing the development paradigm in the State. During that time, he initiated several programmes, which were considered “unimplemented”. When he decided to provide 24x7 power supply to every household in Gujarat, the idea had very few buyers. But through his political fortitude, strong determination and passion to work for the people, Modiji achieved this dream and showed the world that when there is a will, there’s a way. There are numerous examples of how Modiji’s image of go-getter transformed Gujarat.

It was the Modiji-led Gujarat model of development that worked in favour of BJP across India. It gave clear message to the masses that if leadership is committed, then a true welfare state is possible. 

Gujarat’s growth story built a silent appreciation for the BJP across the country, which led to the people showing the door to the corrupt, indifferent and inefficient Congress-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and gave a decisive mandate to Modiji.

With the motto — ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ – Modiji started many initiatives for poverty alleviation, resulting in qualitative change in living conditions of poor. 

It would not be far-fetched to say that after Modiji became the Prime Minister, poor people believe that the government is sensitive towards their needs, hopes and aspirations. Another important thing to notice is that despite heavy public expenditure on various developmental schemes by the government, not one charge of corruption has been levelled against Modi government.

The chains of nepotism, casteism and the politics of appeasement, which had gripped India’s politics for long, have been broken down under Modiji’s leadership. It has also broken one political myth. It is surprising that Modiji’s caste accounts for less than one per cent of the population of Gujarat, but the reason for his victories from the State and now across India is due to his politics of development and his commitment towards poor and downtrodden.

Under Modiji’s leadership, not only is the country working towards a developed society, but India’s profile has also risen considerably on the global platform. The strongest proof of it is the world upholding India’s position on Article 370 and denouncing Pakistan’s stand. 

Pakistan has been left high and dry in its efforts to show India down internationally. Similarly, member states of the United Nations giving a green light to Modiji’s proposal of according international recognition to Yoga Diwas is also a sign of India’s growing clout globally.

Modiji believes in shaking things up to get desired results. Keeping in mind the ills of vote bank politics, who would have thought that any party would dare to bring law on ‘triple Talaq’ to liberate Muslim women or remove Article 370 to ensure complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir in the national mainstream.

Modiji has always stressed on involving citizens in nation-building. The very first thing he did after assuming office of Prime Minister in 2014 was to hit the streets with broom to make India clean. Today, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has become a national movement. Now, Modiji has appealed to us all to make India plastic-free, and I am sure we will also achieve this very soon.

One of the hallmarks of his style of governance is his ability to connect with the masses. Undoubtedly, people not only listen carefully to whatever he says, but also believe him and follow him.

To uplift the lives of people, particularly the needy and those from the weaker sections, Modiji is always ready to walk that extra mile. He has the knack to understand and utilize the capabilities and expertise of his team members. 

He delegates work by aptly gauging the understanding and capabilities of his team members, which ultimately helps in more efficient implementation of programmes.

Our Prime Minister has an unflinching resolve and unwavering patience, he is firm in decision-making who does not let any obstacle come in the path of achieving the task. He is a man of consensus who believes in flowing of ideas to get things done.

It is a matter of great pride for us that today we work under a leader who is working relentlessly to reestablish India’s cultural heritage and make it an egalitarian society. I extend Modiji my best wishes on his birthday and pray to the God to bless him and give him more strength to serve his motherland and humanity.