New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday highlighted the achievements of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in promoting both development and cultural heritage over the past 12 years.

In a post on X, HM Shah said, “The 12 years of the Modi Government have been a golden era marked by the confluence of development and heritage.”

“In these 12 years, on one hand, the construction of Shri Ram Temple, Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, and Ujjain Mahakal Lok took place, while on the other, schemes like PM Awas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, Ann Bhandar, world-class connectivity, infrastructure, and initiatives like ‘Make in India’ have given unprecedented momentum to the country’s development journey,” he said.

The Union Minister said, “By digitising one crore archival records, bringing back 668 ancient artefacts, establishing 11 Tribal Freedom Fighters Museums and granting Classical Language status to 11 Indian languages, Prime Minister Modi has demonstrated that development and heritage are complementary to each other.”

Earlier in the day, HM Shah met US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor and held discussions on enhancing collaboration to combat terrorism and protecting the people of the two nations from narcotics and illicit drugs.

The meeting came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in France’s Evian, and the two leaders reviewed the progress in bilateral cooperation in trade, energy, defence, technology and people-to-people ties.

“Had an excellent meeting with Honorable Home Minister Amit Shah. We had a fruitful discussion on enhancing collaboration to combat terrorism, shield our people from narcotics and illicit drugs, secure our borders, and jointly bring criminals to justice in both nations,” Gor wrote on X after their meeting.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during his visit to India last month, said that India and the US are strategically aligned on several key global issues, including critical minerals, supply chains, and terrorism. He called India “one of the most important strategic partners” for the US.

Addressing a joint press briefing with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Rubio noted that India and the US, as democracies, understand the importance of public scrutiny and accountability.

He also said that India and the US have suffered due to global terrorism networks and stressed that there is “strong counter-terrorism alignment” between the two nations.

–IANS

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