Heaping praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 67th birthday, BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday asserted that Modi had set the ball rolling for the economic integration of India after its territorial and social unification was accomplished by Sardar Patel and BR Ambedkar respectively.
“Ever since I have known him, Narendra bhai has never celebrated his birthday. It is work as usual. He is in Gujarat dedicating to the nation the Sardar Sarovar Dam that will benefit lakhs of farmers, taking stock of the ‘Statue of Unity’ project, addressing a public meeting in Dabhoi and interacting with the cooperative sector in Amreli”, Shah said in a blog referring to his ‘Nation first commitment.’
In many ways , the BJP President said the Prime Minister’s life in many ways was a “personification of the spirit of India” and claimed his sensitivity towards the aspirations of the poor had led to “historic poverty alleviation initiatives taking shape at a scale unheard of in the history” of India.
Shah said “decisiveness has always been a defining feature of Narendra Bhai. If something is good for the nation, it will be pursued with full determination and tenacity”, he said.
The BJP head said in Narendra Bhai, “the people of India see a compassionate leader to whom they can relate to. They see him as their own, a person working round the clock for their and the nation’s welfare, without any self interest. His popularity has transcended all boundaries.”
Under the Modi Government, Shah said, honest taxpayers, a majority of whom belonged to the middle class, felt they were valued following crackdowns against black money and corruption through various measures, including demonetisation and the benami law.
Opposition parties had sharpened their criticism of the government’s claims about demonetisation after the RBI said over 99 per cent old notes were deposited in banks but the BJP insisted it had increased transparency and expanded the formal economy. “India remembers Sardar Patel for the territorial integration of our nation and we recall the role of Babasaheb Ambedkar in our social integration. Through initiatives starting from the Jan Dhan Yojana to the GST, Narendra Bhai has set the ball rolling for the economic integration of India,” Shah said.
Hitting out at prime minister’s critics, he said Modi had ruffled several feathers by his action against the corrupt and status quo — “after all, years of privilege of a select few are now over and the poor are now getting their due”.
“People often ask Narendra Bhai, where do you get the strength to combat so many entrenched groups and in his characteristic style he says, “I am here for the poor. And why should I fear anyone, the nation is my family. I am not here to cement my legacy or have someone inherit it. I will work only and only for India.”
Shah recalled that he first met Modi as a young BJP worker and neither of them was drawn to power as the party then was far from the force it later became. What mattered, he said, was that they devoted every moment of their time for India’s welfare. Shah said that service or ‘sewa’ was the best way to celebrate the birthday of ‘pradhan sewak’ Modi.