Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 71 on Friday. While the BJP plans to celebrate the day by organizing Covid-19 vaccination camps, sanitation drives, and blood donation camps, we decided to wish our Prime Minister a very happy birthday with a rather optimistic article about him. Narendra Modi is undeniably one of the most significant Indian political leaders of our century. He is the leader you can hate, he’s the leader you can love, but he is not the leader you can ignore!
With a penchant for drama and oratory, Narendra Modi has always found a way to win the hearts of the common person – while sometimes with genuine work, some other times merely with his magical words.
Here are six instances from his political career when he indeed won our hearts –
1. The first step into the Parliament
When Narendra Modi stepped into the Parliament for the first time, he bowed with his forehead touching the stairs to register his respect for the “temple of democracy”. The act won the hearts of Indians across the globe and filled them with great expectations from the leader. Here was a strong man known for his fiery speeches bowing down with humility and respect – that meant something for the people of India. With that act, Modi gave a hint of the kind of government that India was about to get. But did we? Let’s leave that complex answer for another article. Just sing along right now; it’s birthday time!
2. Diwali with Soldiers
Narendra Modi has always been known for his bold moves. One such step he took in the Diwali of 2014 was to visit the 18,875-feet high Siachen glacier to celebrate the festival of Diwali with our brave soldiers. Needless to say, that made many Indians emotional, happy, and proud!
3. International Yoga Day
The proposal of “International Yoga Day” was first introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address during the opening of the 69th session of the General Assembly, in which he said: “Yoga is an invaluable gift from our ancient tradition”. To see the world accept and adopt India’s heritage has filled our hearts with pride. And we have one man to thank for that – Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
4. Digital India
While people were skeptical in the beginning, they eventually realized that going digital was the way ahead. Narendra Modi definitely won our hearts by giving #DigitalIndia a solid push via speeches as well as government policies. Eventually, his efforts made India the largest digital payments ecosystem in the world.
5. Swachh Bharat campaign
Narendra Modi is such an influential leader that he can bring about a change across the country simply with the power of his speeches. Swachh Bharat campaign is the best example of that! He didn’t just win our hearts when he gave Swachh Bharat campaign a personal push in his iconic speeches but also changed our mindset. With solid resolve, proper groundwork, and inspiring words, he made the #SwachhBharat Campaign one of his government’s most significant socio-political achievements.
6. Make in India
While many question the impact of the Make in India initiative, the numbers support the Modi government. Here are some numbers from a case study by www.ibef.org –
“Total FDI between April 2014 and March 2017 amounted to around 33% of cumulative FDI into India since April 2000. In 2015-16, FDI inflow crossed US$ 50 billion for the first time in any fiscal, and further in 2016-17, FDI reached a record figure of US$ 60 billion. Cumulative FDI inflows from April 2000 to March 2018 had reached US$ 546.45 billion (including equity inflows, invested earnings and other capital). In 2017, India retained its position as the world’s most attractive destination for Greenfield FDI.”
Still winning hearts, isn’t he?
