Modi – the longest serving elected Prime Minister of India.   – Celebrating the power and achievements of a Common Man

By S. PRABHAKAR

            

Disclaimer: I am apolitical and have never attempted an article on any living politician.  In this article, I try to give credit where it is due and celebrate the tremendous achievements of Modi and the BJP Government.  For highlighting the achievements of any person, the achievements are compared with the achievement of predecessor(s), and hence, there will be some comparison with other PMs and the party which ruled the country for a long time, i.e., Congress.   It may not be construed that I am pro-Modi and anti-Congress or as a judgement who is better than whom.

All the figures mentioned in the article are from published data and I did not do any independent verification.

 

On completion of 4399 days as Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi has broken Nehru's record and become the longest-serving democratically elected Prime Minister of India for the longest consecutive period.   The first stint of Nehru from 1947-52 was as head of an interim government, as elections had not yet been held. Indira Gandhi had a fractured tenure totalling 14 years.  With close to 3 years to go, Modi has a chance to extend his record run to 15 years.    

In the arena of politics, Modi stands tallest as the most Powerful and transformative leader in post-independence India.  He is the first non-Congress leader to have won two general elections with a clear majority and a third term with the NDA coalition partners.  Modi is the only leader in India to win six consecutive elections as party leader — three to a state Assembly and three to Parliament and hold a constitutional position for over 25 years consecutively.  

 

The Modest beginning and Meritorious rise – from Chaiwala to Prime Minister of India.  

Modi belongs to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and comes from a very modest economic background.   His father had a Tea stall in a railway station in Gujarat, and he helped him, hence the tag of Chaiwala, which the opposition parties first mocked at to run him down, but later on, he has turned it into a badge of pride and became a powerful symbol of a self-made man, which the vast majority of common men could relate to as against elite entitlement clan of Nehru family.

Modi joined RSS as a `Pracharak’ at a very young age of 8 years, and became a full-time Pracharak in 1971.   He was deputed to BJP in 1985 and rose through the ranks very rapidly.    He earned national recognition when he took an active part in organising the 1990 Rath Yatra by the BJP.   The greatest turning point came when he led the BJP to a thumping victory in the Gujarat state elections in 2001 and was chosen as CM.    For the next thirteen years and four terms, there was no looking back for him, and he led Gujarat with aggressive economic development and investor-friendly policies and turned Gujarat into a model state for development.  

With the BJP not doing so well in the general elections in 2009, led by Advani as the Prime Ministerial candidate, the mantle to shoulder the responsibility fell in the lap of Modi in 2014 general elections.  Though there was muted resistance and non-approval of his candidature from the old guards, Modi has silenced all by leading the BJP to a landslide victory by winning 282 seats – a single-party majority for the BJP party.    He became the 14^th Prime Minister of India on 26^th May, 2014.   Modi was re-elected in 2019 with a larger majority – 303 seats.  In the third term in 2014, the BJP overestimated itself and ran a campaign `ab ke baar char sau paar’ (this time over 400 seats).  But the results not only shocked the BJP but everyone, with the BJP managing only 240 seats and falling short of a clear majority, but it formed  government with the NDA coalition.  

 

Withstanding strong opposition:   Unlike those predecessors, who had longer tenures, neither Modi got to power easily, nor staying in power was easy.     Nehru inherited a party (the then Congress party) of the freedom movement that barely faced any opposition.  He was nominated as President of Congress party by Gandhi despite getting 0 votes in his favour as against 12 by Sardar Patel, paving the way to become PM.   In the 1951-52 general election, the Congress won 364 seats, with the Communist Party of India being the largest opposition with 16 seats and the Socialist Party being the second-largest with 12. In the 1957 election, when the Congress got 371 seats, the largest opposition was the CPI with 27 and the Praja Socialist Party was the second-largest with 19. In the last election with Nehru as prime minister, in 1962, the Congress got 361, while the CPI got 29 and the Swatantra Party 18.   Most of the states were ruled by Congress-led governments only.   Indira Gandhi too enjoyed a clear majority, and when her election was challenged, and she was disqualified by the SC  she imposed emergency.  

Compared to that, Modi and the BJP had to face stiff opposition from the well-established and grand old party, Congress.   When the BJP came to power at the centre in 2014, 15 states were under Congress rule, and a few more states were ruled by very strong regional parties like TDP, TMC, DMK/AIDMK etc.   Right through, Modi didn’t have a clear majority in the Rajya Sabha, and getting bills passed became a humongous task.    But over a period of 12 years, the Modi-led BJP not only returned to power at the centre but has won elections in many states.   At present, the BJP directly rules 17 States and UTs and, with its NDA coalition partners 22.    

 

The Hits & Misses of Modi 12 year Rule

Going by any yardstick, there are more hits than misses in Modi & the BJP's rule in the last 12 years, which the opposition parties and their die-hard supporters find hard to swallow or acknowledge.

 

1.               Key Economic Indicators

Over the past 12 years, the Indian economy and its physical landscape have undergone a massive structural shift:

• 7% Growth Rate: Under PM Modi’s leadership, India’s GDP has maintained a steady and impressive average growth of 7 percent over the last 12 years.

 

•       GDP: Expanded from $2 trillion to nearly $4 trillion.

• Total exports have recorded an all-time high of USD 825 billion in the financial year 2024-25, out of which services exports account for USD 387 billion
• Global Ranking: Advanced from 10th to 6th largest economy globally.   India is the fastest-growing economy in the world and may soon become 4^th largest economy.  
• Foreign Reserves: Increased to over $655 billion.
• Inflation: Cooled from 6.7% down to 4.6%.
• Fiscal Deficit: Hovered around 4.4%.
• Unemployment Rate: Dropped to an estimated 3.2%.   1.6 crore jobs per annum were created.
• Forex reserves stood at USD 688 billion
• Over Rs 3.5 lakh crore were recovered for creditors through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code route, and the World Bank has improved India’s Resolving Insolvency rank to 52^nd from 136^th

 

2.    The Goods and Services Tax (GST): The long-pending tax reform GST, has been implemented by the Modi Government in 2017, eliminating the complex web of state and central taxes.

     The number of registered taxpayers has increased to over 1.51 crores, and the average monthly collection stood at Rs. 1.84 lakh crore in 2024-25.   The logistics costs have been reduced by more than 33% on the implementation of GST

       In 2025, there was a rationalisation of tax slabs into two main slabs of 5% and 18%, and households are expected to save Rs. 2.5 lakh crores annually due to this rationalisation.  

3.    Faceless Tax Assessment: Launched in 2020, it ensures that all tax assessments are done without the tax officer meeting the taxpayer face-to-face.   Cases are assigned randomly, and all processes happen digitally.    It not only eradicated corruption in the tax system but also improved the tax assessment process.

       Direct tax net collections reached over ₹23.40 lakh crores by the end of March 2026

 

  4.  Infrastructure development:

        The Modi Government has undertaken one of the largest infrastructure drives in India’s history to boost economic activity by connecting rural areas and cutting logistic costs

Highway Network Expansion: 

·       The national highway network has been aggressively expanded to cover more than 1.5 lakh kilometres, recording a 60% growth over 2014, smoothly connecting remote corners of the nation. 

·      Expressways and high-speed corridors have gone up from 93 kms in 2014 to 2474 kms in 2024.   

·  Landmark engineering projects completed during this tenure include the Atal Setu, Sudarshan Setu, and the Chenab Rail Bridge 

·       Some of the key expressways and corridors are the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, the Char Dham road Project, Gorakhpur Link Expressway, Purvanchal Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway, Samruddhi Mahamarg and Dwarka Expressway

·       190 projects covering 3848 kms are underway in eight North Eastern states 

·       India has the world’s second-largest road network

Airports: 

·       In the Modi era, there has been a phenomenal growth in airports from 74 in 2014 to 174 in 2026.   Many greenfield airports have become operational 

·       7 airports were built in the Northeast since 2014, compared to 9 from 1947 to 2014

·       Under UDAN scheme 625 new air routes were operationalised, connecting 88 routes, benefitting 1.51 crore passengers.

 

Seaports:

·       Port capacity has been doubled during the last decade

·       Vizhinjam International Seaport – Kerala – Being developed at a cost of Rs. 8800 crores.

·      Vadhavan Port – Maharashtra: Foundation stone is laid for this port with a 1000-meter-long container terminal, four multi-purpose berths, four liquid cargo facilities.

Railways:

·       Modi government has undertaken massive Railway infrastructure expansion in the form of track electrification, gauge conversion, and dedicated freight corridors

·       The capital expenditure by Indian Railways has increased from Rs. 600 billion in 2013-14 to Rs. 2.65 trillion in 2025-26.   Cumulatively, around Rs. 22 trillion has been invested in the Indian rail network over the last 11 years.

·       Under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, hundreds of stations are being redeveloped. 

·       Vande Bharat – launched in 2019, as of March 2026 there are 162 Vande Bharat chair car trains and 2 sleeper trains, registering a growth of 162 times in 12 years.   260 sleeper Vande Bharat trains are planned by 2030.  

·       The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project has been under construction

·       The government has undertaken a massive rollout of Kavach – an indigenous train collision avoidance system.

Metro network:

·     Metro network has grown exponentially in the last 12 years from 248 km in 2014 to 1095 kms in 2025, spread over 26 cities. 

·       The annual metro budget has increased from Rs. 5798 crores in 2013-14 to Rs. 29550 crores in 2025-26

·       India has become the third largest metro network, just behind China and US.

·   Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS)  - Besides Metro, RRTS became operational between Delhi and Meerut and two more corridors between Delhi and Alwar and Delhi and Panipat are under construction.

 

5.         The remarkable way the pandemic was handled

·       The world, including India, was thrown into a deep crisis due to the widespread pandemic.   There was a shortage of oxygen, hospital beds, health care workers and even crematoriums. 

·       The Government has clamped a nationwide lockdown, one of its kind in recent memory, to arrest the spread of Covid.

·     India had approximately 1.9 million hospital beds, 95,000 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, and 48,000 ventilators, against a need of 270,000 ICU beds

·       Make shift temporary hospital, beds, ventilators and other medical equipment were arranged, and a large number of health care workers were trained in a very short period of time 

·       India has developed and scaled domestic vaccine production of Covaxin and Covishield and undertaken the world’s largest vaccination campaign

·    The indigenously developed Indian Covid vaccines proved to be very effective, and they were produced in such large numbers that not only took care of the needs of a vast 140 crore population, but 66 million doses were exported to over 150 countries, including many African and Southeast Asian countries. 

·       Keeping in view the large population and density of population all over India, the effective way the pandemic was handled by the Government and keeping the loss of life and health scare to the minimum, was praiseworthy.

 

6.    Political will to take retaliatory measures against terrorist attacks:  

·       One of the many things the Modi Government should be given credit for is that it has shown the political will and made a strong retaliatory attack on terrorist camps deep inside Pakistani territories.    The Congress Government under Manmohan Singh has not taken any action against Pakistan for orchestrating many terrorist attacks, including the Mumbai attack on 26/11/08 by Pakistani homegrown terrorists killing 166 people and wounding over 300

·       Uri Attack: Within ten days of the Uri attack, in which 19 Indian soldiers were killed, and two dozen were wounded, India carried out a surgical strikes on militant launch pads in PoK.  

·       Operation Sindhoor:

·       In May, 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting facilities linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hizbul Mujahideen in Pakistan and PoK. The operation was in retaliation for a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 civilians, mostly Hindu tourists.

These attacks and the slogan `Ghar Main Gus Ke Marenge’ have caught up the image of the Indian public, and the strong and tough measures taken by the Modi Government have been widely appreciated, and sent a strong and clear message that terrorist attacks will not be taken lying down.  

 

                Defence preparedness:

·       Over the last 12 years, India’s defence preparedness has improved significantly.  

·       Budget allocation: Defence budget allocation has increased from Rs. 2.3 lakhs crores in 2014 to Rs. 7.85 lakhs crores in 2026-27.  

·       Make in India: India focussed more on domestic production of weapons, aircraft, ships, and missiles

·       The Government has approved a USD 25 billion modernisation package covering new air defence missile systems, drone platforms and transport aircraft.

·       According to the Ministry of Defence, India now exports defence products to more than 80 countries, and defence exports rose to a record Rs 38,424 crore in  Financial Year 2026 from Rs 686 crore in FY14.

 

       The government has taken initiatives for Border fencing and surveillance continuously to avert such incidents.

Border Fencing:  Fencing has been done along 591 km of the India-Bangladesh border. 573 border outposts and 579 observation posts have been constructed, and 1,812 km of border roads have been built to improve connectivity.

Surveillance: India deployed the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS), incorporating smart sensors, thermal imaging, laser barriers, and centralised command centres along the sensitive Pakistan and Bangladesh borders for real-time monitoring and rapid response.

 

7.  Welfare Measures:

One of the greatest achievements of the Modi government is the large number of welfare measures undertaken to eradicate poverty and change how welfare schemes reach the common man.   The government successfully eradicated extreme poverty for over 200 million citizens

·        Swachh Bharat Abhiyan:  Modi will go down in history as the only Prime Minister of India who      thought and talked about cleanliness and sanitation, especially targeting challenges faced by the rural population, including females, of open defecation    

Modi launched two schemes, one for Rural areas and another for Urban areas.  An Investment of Rs. 1.40 lakhs crores to sustain the Open Defecation Free status and manage solid and liquid waste.  

Apart from achieving hygiene and cleanliness, as per UNICEF estimates, about 1.25 crores were employed in the implementation of this scheme.

 

·                    The JAM trinity: Jan Dhan Aadhar and Mobile linking has initiated direct benefit transfer from             over       300 government schemes directly to verified accounts of the poor and eliminated 2.73         lakh crore subsidy leakage.  By this, the Government has eliminated corruption and middlemen.           More than     32 crore women have been integrated into the formal banking ecosystem through Jan         Dhan  accounts. 

The World Bank acknowledged that India has achieved 80% financial inclusion in 6 years, a process that would normally have taken 47 years. 

·                Ujjwala Yojana: Modi government has given great relief to homemakers from the killer smoke from traditional Indian kitchens, by providing a clean alternative, free LPG connections to 10 crore families below the poverty line.

·                Jal Jeevan Mission: JJM, is among the largest drinking water infrastructure in human history,             aiming to provide piped tap water connections to all rural homes.   Over 15 crore connections were provided by 2024

·        Healthcare Expansion through Ayushman Bharat: The Ayushman Bharat scheme now provides health coverage to approximately 80 crore people, offering free treatment up to ₹5 lakh for all senior citizens aged 70 and above.   Ayushman Bharat has issued around 44 crore health cards and provides annual health coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per family.

This is supported by a network of over 19,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras delivering affordable medicines.

·        Setting up of AIIMS : Modi Government has sanctioned setting up of 16 new All India Institute of Medical science all across India.   There were only 7 AIIMS in India till 2014

·        Direct Farmer Benefits: The government has transferred over ₹4.3 lakh crore directly into bank accounts via the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi. Crop insurance payouts have crossed ₹2 lakh crore, backed by a massive ₹26 lakh crore procurement at Minimum Support Price (MSP).

·        Food and Housing Security: The government currently provides free monthly food grains to over 81 crore beneficiaries. Additionally, over 4 crore houses have been sanctioned and constructed under the PM Awas Yojana.

·        Rural Livelihoods: Under the Lakhpati Didi initiative, more than 10 crore rural women have been linked to over 91 lakh self-help groups (SHGs), promoting grassroots entrepreneurship

 

8.   Digital transformation

        UPI brought a sea change in the payment mechanism

          Perhaps the most visible economic transformation has been the rise of digital payments, one area             where India has beaten Western countries, including US, hands down.

          From roadside vendors to large retailers, UPI has become a part of daily commerce across the                 country.   The ridiculous and funny comment made by ex-Finance Minister Chidambaram proved             to be true.

              According to NPCI data, the average daily usage is approximately 755 million transactions worth             Rs. 96,000 crores.  UPI processed a record 23.2 billion transactions worth Rs 29.9 lakh crore in             May 2026.   By transaction volume, UPI is among the largest real-time retail payment systems in         the world.

           The platform has expanded internationally and is now operational in markets including the UAE,             Singapore and France.   UPI payments in India account for approximately 49% of all real-time             digital payments worldwide

         It has reduced the pressure on printing and circulation of currency

             Apart from ease of payment, it has brought many traders and businessmen into the tax net.

Internet & Broadband penetration:

·            Compared to 2014, there was a fourfold increase in the number of internet users, which reached 974         million by 2025

·            The Broadband subscribers rose to 940 million by 2025, as against 66 million in 2014

·                Bharat Net: The Modi Government has rolled out 6 lakhs of optical fibre – the largest rural                     broadband infrastructure project in the world.    It connects six lakh gram panchayats with high-            speed broadband through optical fibre, forming the backbone for all rural digital services. 

·                The data price of Rs. 9 per GB is among the cheapest in the world.  

 

9.    Startups & IITs : 

·       To back the aspirations of the younger demographic, the government provided formal skill training to over 2 crore youth and disbursed ₹40 lakh crore in Mudra loans.

·       India’s startup ecosystem has subsequently grown to encompass over 2.2 lakh registered startups.

·       Modi government established 7 new IITs and upgraded 1 existing institute to IIT status, bringing the total number of operational IITs to 23

 

10.  Political stability:

·       Modi and BJP have given India the much-needed political stability by winning the general elections for the third time.    

·       Even after the setback of 2024 in not getting a clear majority, Modi and the BJP have quickly turned around and won state assembly elections in Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, Assam, and West Bengal.   

·       It goes to the credit of the Modi Government that it has hardly dismissed any elected government and imposed President’s Rule, unlike Congress, which has dismissed elected governments in the states 84 times. 

 

11.        Abrogation of Article 370

Article 370, granting special status, constitution and flag to Jammu and Kashmir, was always intended to be a temporary provision, but thanks to a lack of Political will on the part of successive Congress governments at the centre and the government in the state, the temporary provision has been extended for over seventy years, resulting in retarded growth, unequal rights and unrest in the area.   Congress has always shun away from taking any steps toward abrogation of Article 370 and given an impression that J&K will burn if any such action is initiated.  

Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated on August 5, 2019, reorganising the state into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. This historic move was later unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court of India in December 2023.   It goes to the credit of the Modi Government, Home Minister Amit Shah, that this historic moment has passed off so peacefully and the move has been welcomed by the majority of locals who have been suffering for such a long time.

The abrogation removes the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir by the Constitution. The Constitution and other territorial laws of India apply to these two territories as they would to any other State and Union Territory in the Country. The Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir is redundant, and the region no longer has a separate flag. 

Some of the major benefits are:

a     Bringing back peace into the valley

·                           As against all apprehensions, the transaction has been very peaceful, and peace has been                             maintained by and large.

·                           The terrorist attacks and stone pelting incidents have drastically reduced

·                           The Indian flat was hosted at the Lal Chowk, Srinagar, after many years

 

b.   Full Integration and Equal Rights

• Unified Laws: Over 800 central laws—such as the Right to Education, Right to Information, and reservations for marginalised communities—now apply to the region. 
• Women's Empowerment: The repeal of Article 35A ensures that women who marry individuals from outside the region no longer forfeit their property and inheritance rights. 
• Marginalized Communities: Refugees from West Pakistan, sanitation workers, and other historically disadvantaged groups have been granted full voting and domicile rights.

c. Economic Growth and Investment

• Private Investment: By removing restrictions on land ownership by non-residents, the region is now open to large-scale investments in industries, hotels, and private infrastructure. 
• Boost to Tourism: The region has experienced a surge in tourism, driven by improved infrastructure and enhanced security. 
• Job Creation: Increased industrialization and expanding tourism and service sectors have created broader employment opportunities for the local youth 

 

12.        Legislation on Triple Talak – a great relief to Muslim women

·                    The Modi government introduced landmark legislation The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights             on Marriage) Act, 2019

 

a)       Criminalisation: to declare any pronouncement of instant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) void and illegal, and to criminalise the practice of instant triple talaq

 

b)       Imprisonment: Carries a jail term of up to 3 years for the husband

 

c)       Maintenance: Entitles the affected Muslim woman to a subsistence allowance and child custody

 

13.       Rediscovering and reviving Sanatana from the grassroots

·                        Modi and the BJP government have received both bouquets and brickbats for their Sanatana push             and making it an active political theme, especially during the 2023 elections.

 

·                India and Pakistan were divided based on religion. Pakistan chose to declare itself as an Islamic             State, but India, which had over 85 percent Hindu population at that time, didn’t declare itself to be a     Hindu State, which should have been a logical thing to do.   At the time of attaining independence, by     the constitution, we did not declare ourselves to be a secular state.   Congress, for the reasons best         known to them, has pushed its own brand of secularism, which meant appeasing Muslims, branding     them as a minority community, ignoring the other real minority communities like Sikhs, Jains, Parsis     etc.   For the next over 70 years, the words Sanatana/Hinduvta/Hindu were treated as prohibitive             words, and anyone who mentions them is branded as divisive on religious lines.   Hindu religion,             Hindu temples, were completely ignored, but Hindu temples were brought under Government                 control and started taxing them.    Ignoring the Hindu religion, Hindu festivals, and throwing Iftar          parties has become a secularist practice by Congress and a few more parties.     

 

·            The word "secularism" was officially added to the Preamble of the Indian Constitution on December     18, 1976. through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act during the Emergency period under             Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's government.   

·        The brand of secularism followed in India is so strange that through Endowment department, Hindu     temple management and finances are controlled by the Government, Mosques, Churches and     Gurdwaras are left to be controlled by their respective religious management bodies.  

·        The BJP took it upon themselves to revive Sanatana Dharma and also Hindu temples, culture and traditions. 

·        Modi, on his part, has never shunned away in projecting himself as a practising Hindu and participated in Puja/medications in many temples, including at the inauguration of Ram Lalla Temple in Ayodhya.   Congress, DMK and many other political parties, which have a large number of Hindus, strangely find fault in such practices.   Their brand of logic is beyond comprehension; that's how in a Secular country, a Head of Country or State has no right to practise his religion if it is Hindu, without opposition parties attributing motives.

Major BJP-led temple revival/renovation projects in recent years:

• Ram Mandir, Ayodhya – Inaugurated with a Prana Pratishtha/consecration ceremony on January 22, 2024.  The Ram Temple was built over the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi after the Supreme Court verdict.
• Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, Varanasi – major redevelopment around the temple.
• Mahakal Lok Corridor, Ujjain – redevelopment of the Mahakaleshwar temple complex.
• Kedarnath and Badrinath, Uttarakhand – Modi unveiled new road, railway and ropeway projects worth Rs 3,400 crore for these temples, including a Gaurikund-Kedarnath ropeway.
• Somnath Temple, Gujarat – reconstruction and inauguration of the Old Somnath temple precinct, promenade, and exhibition centre.
• Kashmir Pandit temples – renovation of temples as part of efforts to resettle and support Kashmiri Pandits.
• Uttar Pradesh state-wide drive – the Yogi Adityanath government launched a large-scale renovation and tourism plan covering temples and ashrams across the state, with a focus on eastern UP.

• Religious places as economic drivers:

The potential of religious places as economic drivers was realised by the BJP Government.   Tirupati temple generates over Rs. 1,600 crores in annual collections and the Vaishnav Devi temple and Golden Temple in Amritsar are not far behind and the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has joined this elite category in revenue generation.    The 45-day Maha Kumbh Mela was attended by 66 crores pilgrims and has generated an estimated ₹3 lakh crore.   Many more famous temples are being redeveloped and modernised.    Spiritual tourism is projected to generate Rs. 16.8 lakh crore annually.    They act as vital regional hubs, fuelling employment, hospitality, and real estate.   

 

14.       Decolonisation

The government initiated a broader process of decolonisation by moving away from colonial-era identities. This includes:

a)                      Statues  to honour national icons:  

·                                For over 60 years, Congress was obsessed with naming roads and putting up statues, with                     tyrant Mughal,  British rulers and the Nehru dynasty.    Thousands of projects, institutions,                     streets, airports, and government schemes were named after Nehru, Indira Gandhi and the Pilot                 turned Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, who just ruled the country for 5 years. 

·                        Unlike the Nehru/Gandhi Parivaar, Modi has hardly named any Project, Scheme, street named                 after him, except a stadium in Gujarat was named after him – Narendra Modi Stadium. 

·                        Modi and the BJP have undertaken a drive to rename cities and streets after national icons and                 also put up their statues. 

·                National War Memorial: The National War Memorial is a war memorial located in India Gate         Circle, New Delhi. It has been built to honour and remember soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces         who fought in armed conflicts of independent India.

 

·                    Statue of Unity (Sardar Patel) in Gujarat, Subash Chandra Bose Statue near India Gate, New Delhi,         Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Statue – Maharashtra (proposed), Adiyogi Shiva statue, Coimbatore,             Statue of Belief (Adi Shankaracharya) in Kedarnath and proposal for a grand Ram statue in                     Ayodhya

 

b)         Naming/renaming cities/places:

·                        Aurangzeb Road, Delhi renamed as A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Road (2015)

·                        Allahabad renamed as  Prayagraj (2018)

·                        Gurgaon renamed as  Gurugram (2016)

·                        Mughal Gardens in Rashtrapati Bhavan renamed as  Amrit Udyan (2023)

·                        Rajpath renamed as  Kartavya Path (2022)

·                        Mughalsarai Junction railway station renamed as  Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction (2018)

·                           Port Blair (proposed) renamed as Sri Vijaya Puram

 

Universities renamed after local/national icons:

• North Maharashtra University renamed as  Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University;
•  Chhindwara University renamed as Raja Shankar Shah University;
• Allahabad State University renamed as  Prof. Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) University

 

15.  Commanding global respect:

·       Modi may not be as highly educated as Manmohan Singh, may not boast of an elite family background like Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, but the attention Modi has drawn from world leaders through his frequent engagements, his diaspora outreach, personal rapport with world leaders is commendable and has surprised many.  

 

·       Modi maintains very cordial and stable relations with Putin, and both leaders strive to maintain a special, privileged strategic partnership

 

·       Modi is heavily investing in Europe, building trust with his personal rapport and mutual respect.  

 

·       French President Macron and his Government gave a warm reception to Modi during his recent visit to France with a joint appearance at Bastille Day celebrations.

 

·       Modi's relations with Trump and the US are not as cordial as it was in the first term of Trump.   There has been hostility and imposition of tariffs as Modi refused to toe the line and maintained neutrality in the US-Iran War.  

 

·       Unlike his predecessors, Modi makes it a point to have engagement with the Indian diaspora in whichever country he goes on an official visit, and there is a large turnout, and it is widely covered by Indian and foreign media.    The warmth and genuineness in his speeches always touch the raw nerve of those who are staying thousands of miles away from their homeland.   In this aspect, Modi is peerless

 

 Honours received by PM  Modi from Foreign Nations:

 

Modi has received  29 international state decorations till 2025 

·                        Saudi Arabia – Order of King Abdulaziz (April 2016)

·                        Afghanistan – State Order of Ghazi Amir Amanullah Khan (June 2016)

·                        Palestine – Grand Collar, Order of the State of Palestine (Feb 2018)

·                        UAE – Order of Zayed (Aug 2019)

·                        Bahrain – King Hamad Order of the Renaissance (Aug 2019)

·                        Maldives – Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen (June 2019)

·                    Russia – Order of St. Andrew the Apostle (2019, conferred)

·                    Bhutan – Order of the Druk Gyalpo (March 2024)

·                    Egypt – Order of the Nile (June 2023)

·                    France – Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (July 2023)

·                    Greece – Grand Cross of the Order of Honour (Aug 2023)

·                    Papua New Guinea – Companion of the Order of Logohu / "Chief" title (May 2023)

·                    Fiji – Companion of the Order of Fiji (May 2023)

·                    Nigeria – Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (Nov 2024)

·                    Dominica – Dominica Award of Honour (Nov 2024)

·                    Guyana – The Order of Excellence (Nov 2024)

·                    Trinidad & Tobago – The Order of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago (July 2025)

·                    Ghana – Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana (July 2025)

·                    Cyprus – Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III (June 2025)

·                    Brazil – Grand Collar of the National Order of the Southern Cross (July 2025)

  

16.  Great personal traits

·         Honest and hard working:

·        Even Congress, AAP, TMC and other opposition parties, who made all sorts of wild and unsubstantiated allegations,  could not make any allegations of personal corruption against Modi.   In the last 12 years, there were hardly any major scams, as against over half a dozen major scams under the Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh governments.

·        Modi is extremely hardworking and, having given up family for serving the nation, he hardly takes any break/leave from his work.

·        Simple and down to earth:

·        In being simple, Modi is next to Lal Bahadur Shastri.   The simple background from which he has come the hard way keeps him grounded.  When he entered the Parliament for the first time, he did `Dandvat Pranam’ at the entrance, and on many occasions, he bowed and touched the feet of elderly ladies, he has washed the feet of five sanitation workers during the 2019 Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj to honour their hard work in maintaining cleanliness during the festival, publicly praising them as "karma yogis,  he showered rose petals on 400 workers who constructed Ram Temple.   Though opposition parties and his detractors may dismiss these gestures as done for optics, one needs a great degree of humility to do so while holding the most powerful position of PM of India.   

·       While being in office as PM, when his mother died, he made sure that it was a personal affair and he was back to work in a couple of days.   It is quite a contrast to Sanjay Gandhi's state funeral and a memorial in Delhi, when he was just an MP and Youth Congress president, apart from being the son of the then PM Indira Gandhi.   Samadhi of four Gandhi Parivar members - Nehru, Indira, Rajiv and Sanjay occupy 265 acres of prime land in Delhi valued at ₹16000 crores.

 

·        No nepotism/favouritism: 

In Indian politics, where nepotism and handing over the power and position of Chief Ministership or Prime Ministership is an accepted thing, Modi is an exception.   Modi has not allowed his wife, siblings, other relatives, friends and associates to stay with him in the Prime Minister’s official residence or spend a single penny on them from the exchequer.  His siblings and their children are doing their respective small jobs/businesses in their villages.   Unlike the Nehru/Gandhi Parivar, he has not groomed any of his relatives to succeed him or put them in plum positions or allow them to run the nation de facto as Sanjay Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi have done.

 

17.   Wide spread in choosing Padma Awardees:

·       One of the biggest and most visible changes the Modi Government has brought is wide spread of deserving achievers from all walks of life.   Since independence till 2014, only the elite, rich and famous belonging to the Lutyens zone were handpicked for the Padma Award.   It used to be a limited circle cosy club.    No efforts were ever made to identify the really deserving achievers from the length and breadth of a vast country like India.

·       Year after year, Padma awards were given, among others, to the real achievers, who are illiterate, grand old, tribals, from remotest villages who overcome all their limitations and served the society and were not known beyond the village/town where they served  

           Few such cases are:

·       Rahibai Popere (2020): A tribal farmer from Maharashtra who never attended school, known as 'Beej Mata' (Seed Mother) for her work in preserving indigenous seeds and promoting traditional farming.

·       Subhashini Mistry (2024): A woman who was widowed at 12  and worked as a housemaid and vegetable seller. She saved for over 20 years to build a low-cost hospital for the poor near Kolkata.

·       K.V. Rabiya (2022): A physically challenged and virtually unschooled woman from rural Kerala who fought cancer and polio to dedicate her life to adult literacy programs in the region.

·       Tulasi Munda (2014): A tribal woman born into a poor, illiterate Adivasi family in Odisha. Despite being unable to study formally, she spent her life fighting illiteracy and teaching thousands of tribal children.

·       Pappammal (2021): A 105-year-old organic farmer and agriculturalist from rural Tamil Nadu, recognised for her lifelong work in sustainable and traditional farming practices.

These are the real achievers who deserve recognition and reward more than any Cricketer, film star, politician or media mogul, but strangely the thought of bestowing honour on such people never crossed the minds of previous Governments.

Bharat Rana

For the first time in independent history, Modi and the BJP Government have bestowed honour with Bharat Ratna and other Padma awards to their political opponents.   Some of the Bharat Ratna recipients under Modi Government are:

·       P.V. Narasimha Rao – from the Congress party.

·       Chaudhary Charan Singh -  from Lok Dal

·       Pranabh Mukerjee – from the Congress party

·       Karpoori Thakhur - Samyukta Socialist Party

·       Madan Mohan Malaviya -from the Congress

 

Not awarded himself Bharat Ratna: Though Modi held public office for 25 years continuously, out of which 12 years as Prime Minister of India, he resisted the temptation of bestowing Bharat Ratna upon himself, as was done by the Nehru Parivar.   Nehru gave himself Bharat Ratna in 1955 in the very first term in office as PM, Indira Gandhi gave herself Bharat Ratna in 1971, within 5 years in office as PM, and to complete the hat-trick, Rajiv Gandhi was given Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1991, again after completion of one term as PM.    Going by the yardstick applied by the Congress, Modi should have got Bharat Ratna long back, but he is cut from a different cloth.

Shortcomings/failures of the Modi Government:

·        However good governance, a Government may give, the opposition parties are there to pounce upon and criticise as if everything is wrong with the ruling dispensation.   It is no different for the Modi Government.   The principal opposition party at the centre, Congress, which has been out of power for 12 long years, and decimated in the elections to such an extent in 2014 and 2019 that it did not get sufficient seats to be eligible to be the principal opposition party, has every reason to be critical of the Modi Government.   Congress is joined by AAP in Delhi and Punjab, TMC in West Bengal, SP in UP and DMK in TN in the project within India, and in the case of Rahul Gandhi, outside India, as if everything is going wrong in India.

 

·        Though the Modi Government's performance in the last 12 years may not be as bad as has been projected by the opposition parties at the Centre and States, there are definitely shortcomings, which the Modi Government should introspect and address.   A few of them are:

 

1.       Failure in bringing back block money from abroad

·         Modi and the BJP pledged to bring back to India black money stashed abroad during his 2014 election campaigns and claimed that the money is so large that when brought back Rs. 15 lakhs can be deposited in every person’s account.   Though a lot of efforts were made, the Modi Government is no different from other parties in power earlier, failed miserably in this aspect and could not bring a penny back.   Understandably, the opposition parties mock about waiting for Rs. 15 lakhs to be credited to their account even after 12 years

2.       Demonetisation:

·        Modi’s 2016 demonetization of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes is widely considered an economic failure because it didn’t succeed in its core objective of eliminating "black money" and severely disrupted the economy.

 

·        Demonetisation failed to curb black money as 99% of the withdrawn 500 and 1000 rupee notes were returned, according to the RBI, falling drastically short of expectations that trillions of rupees in the form of black money would be wiped out

 

·        The sudden currency vacuum shaved an estimated 1% to 1.5% off India's GDP growth

 

·        Though the Government pushed a narrative that demonetisation has broken the backbone of the network of fake currency run by Pakistan, there were not many who purchased it.

 

3.       Slow implementation of flagship Government initiatives:

 

According to the Parliamentary committee report, the Modi Government has spent barely any of the money allocated to its flagship Government initiatives.   A few of such initiatives are:

 

a)       Swach Bharat – As against Rs. 5.8 thousand crores, only Rs 2.2 thousand crores were spent.

 

b)       Smart City Project - As against Rs. 9.7 thousand crores, a meagre amount of  Rs  182 crores, were spent

 

c)       Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation: As against Rs. 8.4 thousand crores only Rs 2.4 thousand crores were spent

 

d)       Pradhan Matri Awas Vikas Yojana: As against Rs. 9.7 thousand crores only Rs 2.00 thousand crores were spent

 

e)       National Urban Livelihoods Mission: As against Rs. 1.5 thousand crores, only Rs 848 crores were spent

 

f)         Heritage City Development: As against Rs. 248 crores, only Rs. 32.6 crores were spent

 

4.       Dumping Veterans: 

There is no denying that the BJP won elections in 2014, projecting Modi as the Prime Minister candidate, and all the credit should go to him for the thumping majority he got and for being elected as the Prime Minister.

But it came as a shock to many that Modi dumped all the senior and veteran leaders, including Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi, Jaswant Singh and Pragya Thakur, who spent more than half a century building the party from scratch and two seats in Lok Sabha, as if he had some old accounts to settle. 

Though someone like Advani did not find any place in the cabinet, the least that was expected from Modi was to make him the President and let him retire with dignity, but Modi let three opportunities go by and went for candidates from Backward classes for the presidency, as if it were a reserved position.     That deep-rooted dislike of Modi for BJP veterans baffles many.  

5.       Poor communication:

Though Modi is an excellent orator and communicator, the Modi Government and the media management team of the BJP have miserably failed in communicating their achievements to the media and through the media to people at large.

It is baffling that Modi has not held a press conference in the last 12 years and gives one-on-one interviews rarely.   One can appreciate Modi’s decision not to take media junkets on foreign trips in chartered flights and entertain them to win favours from them, but the blanket ban on press briefings proved to be counterproductive and could be one of the main reasons for the poor show in the 2024 elections.   Modi’s Man ki Baat series may be a good idea, but too many monologues

 

6.       Washing machine allegation:

 

BJP has also welcomed with open arms many politicians belonging to opposition parties with dubious, corrupt and criminal records into its fold for political compulsions.   This included many prominent politicians like Chandra Babu Naidu and Raghav Chadha, who have traded serious charges before going through what is famously known as the washing machine process.  

 

Though the Modi Government has not dismissed any elected state Government by imposing President’s rule, but actively engaged in horse trading post-elections to State assemblies and tried to seize power, the infamous being Maharashtra, where the CM was sworn in at midnight and resigned in the morning after few hours.

 

7.       Inaction against the tainted Minister and cabinet colleagues: 

In giving tickets to politicians with criminal records, corruption cases etc, BJP proved to be no different from other parties.    The image of Modi and the BJP is tarnished because of their slow peddling in taking action against tainted cabinet colleagues. 

Some of the infamous cases are :

 

g)       Ram Rahim: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been granted parole at least 16 times and cumulatively for a total duration of 450 days since his conviction in 2017.   The staunchest supporters of the BJP also cannot defend such acts.   There are lakhs of prisoners who might not got parole once in their entire sentence duration. 

 

h)        Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh case: India’s top wrestlers, including Olympic medalists Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and Vinesh Phogat, staged historic sit-in protests in New Delhi in 2023. They demanded the arrest and resignation of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over severe allegations of sexual harassment and intimidation.  It took over six months for the Delhi police to file a charge sheet against Brij Bhushan.  On  Sanjay Singh, a close aide to Brij Bhushan elected to WFI, Sakshi Malik announced her retirement, while Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat returned their national awards in protest.   After this shameful incident, the `Beti Bacheo Beti Padaoe’ slogan of the BJP sounds shallow

 

i)          Protecting Rape accused: BJP has supported and stood like a rock behind Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who was accused of raping a minor girl in Unnao.  It's only after he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019 he was expelled from the party

 

8.       Extra-judicial criminal justice measures:

BJP government in various states are resorting to extra-judicial criminal justice measures, which may look good for optics and cheer for their supporters and the victims, but in a democratic country governed by the Rule of Law, resorting to this may lead to autocracy

·        We often watch videos of petty thieves, eve teasers, beaten black and blue by the UP Police, paraded on the road while being thrashed by police

 

·        In case of mafia and gunda elements, apart from other things, their houses are razed by Bulldozers in UP.   Demolishing any unauthorised construction by the police is understandable, but if it is not so, how can a house/other property be demolished for some other criminal act for which there is a punishment other than demolition of houses/properties in the statute?  If the Government supports such activities, very soon there will be many cases of Police atrocities too.

 

·        Taking a cue from Yogi, the newly elected CM of West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, is also resorting to such an instant justice system, stripping them to their undergarments, half-shaving their heads, and parading them on the roads.    In our criminal justice system, a detailed procedure is laid down to be followed by every law-enforcing agency for every crime.   No one has the right to take the law into their hands, including law enforcement agencies.  

 

·        I am surprised that our HCs and SC are looking the other way and not taking any suo motto cognizance of such things. 

Modi may not be directly responsible for such acts, but as these are happening in BJP-ruled states, the blame will fall on him as well  

 

Thus, there are many Hits and few Misses in Modi’s 12-year rule, but overall, he goes down in history as a self-made politician who rose from the ranks of Pracharak to Prime Minister, and one of the most powerful, popular, dedicated and honest Prime Ministers India ever had. 

 

S. Prabhakar

15.6.2026