Modi removed 3 curses of Indian politics - appeasement, casteism, dynasty: Amit Shah

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has removed three curses of Indian politics - appeasement, casteism and dynastic politics and taken certain bold decisions which no one dared to take in the last 70 years, Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday. Shah also said Modi is the epitome of selfless service to the nation and the people of India recognised the Gujarat model of development and chose him as the fit candidate to lead the nation in 2014 and again in 2019.

"Modi removed three curses of Indian politics - politics of appeasement, casteism and dynasty," he said releasing a book, 'Karmayoddha Granth', on the life of the prime minister.

The home minister said Modi is a man with a beating heart for people, a statesman, a hard taskmaster, an able administrator and an ideal leader who leads by example.

"All these qualities have been personified by Narendra Modi," he said.

On building a strong image of India globally, Shah said the prime minister revamped country's foreign policy and the national security policy by delinking the two. India emerged as a strong nation on the global front while making its stance clear that India would not take terror attacks on itself lying down, he said.

The home minister said India has emerged as a global power by taking bold decisions, including abrogation of provisions of Article 370, which was applicable to Jammu and Kashmir, amendment of the citizenship act to grant Indian nationality to persecuted minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, taking a clear stand on Ram Mandir issue, criminalising triple talaq, conducting surgical and airstrikes in the neighbouring country.

"No one has dared to take such bold decisions in last 70 years. India has for long not seen a leader before Modi taking strong decisions in the interest of the nation and its people, without fearing backlash," he said, adding the Modi government had fulfilled 90 per cent of the promises made in BJP's 2014 manifesto.

Shah also talked about the three parts of Modi's life starting from the phase of dedicating his life to an ideology, entering politics on the ideals of the 'Sangathan' (organisation), and finally, upholding the tenets of parliamentary democracy and the Constitution of India to build an ideal state.

"Today, the prime minister has transformed into a global leader without accreting anything for himself. He is the epitome of selfless service to the nation," he said.

Talking about the journey of Modi's life, the home minister said the prime minister saw a childhood devoid of luxury, full of poverty, disadvantages and neglect from society and he transformed into a leader who dedicated his life towards the welfare of the people, without keeping any ill-feeling for anyone in the society. Shah said Modi resurrected the Gujarat BJP organisation from scratch and transformed it into a living organism that brought an ideology which was dedicated to service of the people into party politics.

The home minister also narrated the challenges faced by Modi, from natural calamities to social upheavals, while he was the chief minister of Gujarat and how he surmounted each one of them to transform the state by creating the 'Gujarat model', an example of equitable development and growth. Modi laid the foundation of the 'New India' based on 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', from Gujarat.

He brought the concept of 'Jan Samvad' in good governance, which was above partisan politics. The people of India recognised the Gujarat model of development and chose Modi as the fit candidate to lead the nation, he said. Shah noted that the Modi government inherited a governance setup that was plagued with corruption of more than Rs 12 lakh crore and from 2014, corruption worth not even a penny was allowed to take place in this government.

He recounted the initiatives taken by the Modi government for 60 crore people of the country and said that in the last five years, 13 crore people got LPG connections, 99 per cent of homes got electricity, almost every household has toilets and universal health care worth Rs 5 lakh under Ayushman Bharat benefitting 50 crore people.

Working on the 'Antyodaya' ideology, the Modi government is committed to give houses for everyone by 2022 and piped drinking water for everyone by 2024, he said. Shah said the Modi government has worked in the direction of destroying stereotypes - 'Neta vs Babu' (leaders versus bureaucrats), rural versus urban development and industrial versus agricultural development. This government has ensured equitable growth and development in all sectors, he said. Modi has also worked to bring recognition to Indian languages, including Hindi around the world, Shah said.