New Delhi, June 9 (IANS) Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that for the first time ever under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership over the past 12 years, India has experienced both significant welfare improvements for the poor and remarkable development.

This comes as on this very day in 2024, PM Modi took the oath as the Prime Minister of India for the third consecutive time. Additionally, PM Modi is set to complete 12 years at the helm of the Central government on June 10, marking a political journey that has significantly reshaped India’s electoral and governance landscape.

In a post on X, Shah said, “Honourable Shri Narendra Modi ji took the oath of office as Prime Minister for the third consecutive time on this very day. Under Modi ji’s leadership, over these 12 years, the country has witnessed for the first time the parallel realisation of poor welfare and unprecedented development.”

“Whether it is providing free rations to 80 crore people or launching over 90 airports and more than 140 Vande Bharat trains across the country; whether it is providing pucca houses to over 4 crore poor families or constructing 1.45 lakh kilometers of roads and 3000 km of modern expressways; whether it is providing Rs 5 lakh health insurance to 50 crore people and gas connections to over 10 crore families or making India the world’s fastest-growing economy; Modi ji has served the nation and its citizens tirelessly through these 12 years without taking even a single day off,” the Home Minister added.

The PM Modi-led government’s era has also been marked by a series of high-profile infrastructure and nation-building projects, including the new Parliament building, Central Vista redevelopment, Kartavya Path, Vande Bharat trains, the Statue of Unity, INS Vikrant, the Kashmir rail link, Noida International Airport, Namo Bharat RRTS and the Ganga Expressway.

Hailing PM Modi’s leadership, Shah said, “When leadership’s intent is pure, goals are in the national interest, and dedication is complete, only then are such transformations possible.”

From his first swearing-in ceremony in 2014 to securing successive mandates in 2019 and a historic third consecutive term in 2024, PM Modi has emerged as one of India’s longest-serving leaders.

On June 10, PM Modi will surpass independent India’s first PM, Jawaharlal Nehru, to become India’s longest-serving continuously elected Prime Minister with 4,399 days.

Nehru was first elected to the post in 1952 (his previous stint from 1947-52 was as head of an interim government, as elections were yet to be institutionalised and held). Indira Gandhi had a fractured tenure totalling 14 years. Prime Minister Modi has an unbroken tenure of 12 years as the PM, and still has three more years to go for the current tenure.

–IANS

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