Mumbai, Sep 13: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ushered in a new era of “politics of performance” by moving India away from the scourges of corruption, casteism and dynastic politics.
Addressing a press conference to announce the ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’ from September 17 to October 17 to mark Modi’s birthday and 25 years of Modi rule in Gujarat and Centre, Shah said the PM has freed the country from policy paralysis, coalition compulsions and poor decision-making.
“Before 2014, Indian politics was suffering from three scourges — corruption, casteism and dynastic politics. In the political era from 2014 to 2026, these three have ended and the people have moved the country towards a politics of performance,” he said.
The campaign, whose slogan is “Jan Seva Hi Prabhu Seva” (public service is service to God), will seek to promote people’s participation in the goal of making India a developed country by 2047, he said.
Shah said the last 25 years had witnessed “epoch-making” changes in Gujarat and the country, including in infrastructure and poverty reduction. He said the political system had also undergone a fundamental transformation.
“PM Modi has freed the country from policy paralysis, coalition compulsions and poor decision-making,” he said.
Shah said the BJP and its allies and people across the country will jointly organise the month-long campaign from September 17, Modi’s birthday.
He said the BJP had previously celebrated Modi’s birthday as ‘Seva Saptah’ from September 17 to October 2, and in some places for a week, but this year’s celebrations will be special as Modi will complete 25 years in public office as chief minister and prime minister on October 7.
“Very few leaders in this country have a record of serving the people continuously for 25 years as chief minister of a state and prime minister of the country,” Shah said, adding that Modi had repeatedly won elections and kept the public service and welfare of the state and nation going continuously for 25 years.
The campaign will have 12 major programmes, including blood donation and lamp-lighting drives, painting and speech competitions for young people, beneficiary interactions, motorcycle yatras between Vadnagar, Modi’s birthplace in Gujarat, and Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency, and events aimed at ensuring saturation of government welfare schemes.
It will also feature ‘Seva Ke Rang Rashtra Ke Sang’, described by Shah as the world’s largest human-group rangoli initiative and a ‘Seva First Innovation Challenge’ involving five regional innovation competitions, he said.
Shah said the country had witnessed a strong foreign and defence policy based on the principle of “India First”, while the economy had moved from being counted among the ‘Fragile Five’ to the top five globally. He also cited a 7.8 per cent GDP growth in the first quarter as evidence of India’s strong economic performance.
He credited GST, the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile trinity, banking reforms, FDI, the Production Linked Incentive scheme and ‘Make in India’ with strengthening the country’s economy and manufacturing capabilities.
Shah said 25 crore people had been brought out of poverty and listed welfare measures, including free foodgrains to 81 crore people, 58 crore bank accounts, healthcare cover of up to Rs 5 lakh for 44 crore people, tap water connections to 16 crore households, Rs 6,000 annually under PM-Kisan to 13 crore farmers and toilets in 13 crore households.
He also cited Ujjwala gas connections, housing and women’s self-help groups as examples of welfare initiatives.
India’s infrastructure had also undergone rapid expansion, with the development of roads, railways, airports, Metros, ports, waterways and digital infrastructure. Shah said the number of airports had risen from around 75 to 150 and talked about dedicated freight corridors, Vande Bharat trains and improved border connectivity.
He highlighted the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam providing for 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures, and cited women’s participation in the armed forces, police, science, startups, drones and sports.
The Union minister said the government had also given greater importance to Indian languages, adopted a strong response to terror attacks and resolved issues such as Article 370, Left-wing extremism and security challenges in the Northeast.
He said surgical strikes, air strikes and Operation Sindoor had established a policy of “zero tolerance” towards terrorism.
The Union minister said projects such as the Ayodhya Ram temple, Kashi Vishwanath Dham, Mahakal Lok and the redevelopment of Kedarnath reflected the government’s efforts to develop centres of faith.
He also cited the new Parliament building, Sengol (historic golden sceptre), Chandrayaan-3, Aditya-L1, One Rank One Pension and the creation of the Chief of Defence Staff among the government’s achievements.
On foreign policy, Shah said India’s standing in the world had risen significantly, citing Vaccine Maitri, trade agreements and India’s leadership of the G20 and BRICS.
“Whatever the problem in the world, the view of India’s Prime Minister matters today,” he said.
He said Modi had become the first prime minister in six decades to be elected three times after the early years following Independence, calling it an indication of his 25-year political record.
