Shah Launches Month-Long 'Seva Sankalp Abhiyan' to Mark Modi's 25 Years in Office

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday announced a month-long campaign, 'Seva Sankalp Abhiyan', to be held from September 17 to October 17 to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday and his completion of 25 years in public office.

Addressing a press conference, Shah said the campaign, built around the slogan "Jan Seva Hi Prabhu Seva" (public service is service to God), aims to encourage public participation in the goal of making India a developed nation by 2047.

He said the BJP and its allies, along with people across the country, will jointly organise the programme. While Modi's birthday has earlier been observed as 'Seva Saptah' from September 17 to October 2, sometimes for a week in places, Shah said this year's edition is special because Modi will complete 25 years in public office as chief minister and prime minister on October 7.

He noted that very few leaders in the country have served continuously for 25 years as chief minister of a state and prime minister, adding that Modi has repeatedly won elections while keeping public service and welfare going.

The campaign will feature 12 major programmes, including blood donation and lamp-lighting drives, painting and speech competitions for young people, interactions with beneficiaries of welfare schemes, motorcycle yatras between Vadnagar, Modi's birthplace in Gujarat, and Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency, and events aimed at saturation of government schemes.

It will also include 'Seva Ke Rang Rashtra Ke Sang', described by Shah as the world's largest human-group rangoli initiative, and a 'Seva First Innovation Challenge' with five regional innovation competitions.

Shah said the last 25 years had brought "epoch-making" changes in Gujarat and the country, including in infrastructure and poverty reduction, and that the political system had undergone a fundamental transformation.

He said the Centre under Modi had ushered in a new era of "politics of performance", moving India away from corruption, casteism and dynastic politics, and had freed the country from policy paralysis, coalition compulsions and poor decision-making.

On the economy, Shah said India had moved from being counted among the 'Fragile Five' to the top five globally, citing 7.8 per cent GDP growth in the first quarter. He credited GST, the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile trinity, banking reforms, FDI, the Production Linked Incentive scheme and 'Make in India' with strengthening the economy and manufacturing.

He said 25 crore people had been lifted out of poverty, and listed welfare measures including free foodgrains to 81 crore people, 58 crore bank accounts, health 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.

On infrastructure, Shah said the number of airports had risen from around 75 to 150, and referred to dedicated freight corridors, Vande Bharat trains and improved border connectivity, along with roads, railways, Metros, ports, waterways and digital infrastructure.

He highlighted the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which provides 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.

Shah said the government had 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. Surgical strikes, air strikes and Operation Sindoor, he said, had established a policy of "zero tolerance" towards terrorism.

He cited projects such as the Ayodhya Ram temple, Kashi Vishwanath Dham, Mahakal Lok and the redevelopment of Kedarnath as efforts to develop centres of faith, and also referred to the new Parliament building, the Sengol, Chandrayaan-3, Aditya-L1, One Rank One Pension and the creation of the Chief of Defence Staff.

On foreign policy, Shah said India's standing 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 added that 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.