On the 68th birthday of Narendra Modi, his trusted aide and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah wrote a blog applauding the work done by the Prime Minister for the development of the country. In the blog published in The Times of India, Shah credited Modi for helping BJP become a force even in regions where it had no visibility earlier.


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"Very often the PM reaches out to sections of society who are unsung heroes through his mobile app, letting them know they are most valued and their work is precious in nation building...This is one sterling quality I have observed in Modi right from the earliest time I got the opportunity to work with him. Everyone in the organisation or government, performing any kind of role, would be personally encouraged by him and made to feel special. This quality of recognising the importance of service and more importantly respecting those who put in their effort to serve others is exemplary," he wrote.


He added that by encouraging others, he also shows his own spirit of service. "Every moment he wants to be involved in making India a better place," he wrote.


Calling him an institution builder, he said that organisations are manned by people who put their shared vision above individual interests. "Such sacrifices, when recognised by people of stature, only make an organisation stronger by boosting morale," he said.


Elaborating on the qualities of the PM, Shah said that Modi gives great attention to detail. "For example, in many of our programmes, there would be a lamp lighting ceremony with which the programme would start. The cotton wicks used in lamps, if immersed in ghee beforehand, get lit immediately when a guest tries to light them. How-ever, if the same wick is dry, it takes a little longer. He would take care that even such minutiae were in place," he wrote.


Talking about how PM Modi respects law and order, Shah said that Modi believes in fairness and justice, and encourages people to work as per law without fear or favour. 


Shah also listed out how Modi worked on his vision to have a bank account and LPG connection for every household. "He had a vision of a bank account for every household. Action and implementation flowed out of that vision and more than 32 crore bank accounts have been opened under Jan Dhan Yojana. Having seen smoke filled kitchens first-hand, he wanted to ensure smoke free lives for poor women. What followed was more than 5 crore free LPG connections to poor women," he wrote. He called it a paradigm shift in governance which has also brought great goodwill and trust for BJP. 


Listing out his efforts in the battle against corruption, Shah said that Modi has been appreciated even by his critics. "That his probity and integrity are unquestionable is a fact accepted even by many of his adversaries," he said.


Equating Modi with former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee he said that just like the late leader, the current PM is also ensuring development across India. "Atalji was also a leader who similarly put the nation on the path of growth through multiple institutional reforms that breathed life into our economy...Similarly, even under Modi’s leadership rural roads are being built at twice the pace, highways are being built at more than double the pace than was the norm before. Electricity is reaching poor households and so is LPG; toilets are being built in crores of homes to boost access to safe sani-tation and a battle against malnutrition has been launched. The huge healthcare game changer – Ayushman Bharat – has also been initiated. Such development is not happening in just one or two states or regions but in the whole of India. Consider the fact that some states in the north-east have been connected by rail for the first time ever." 


Shah added that the PM has helped BJP become a force even in regions where the party used to have a cursory presence, like in the north-east. "If BJP and its allies have been chosen by the people in state after state across regions, it is due to the good governance that Modi has successfully implemented and the ‘can do’ spirit of New India that he resonates," he added.