Union HM Amit Shah Announces Seva Sankalp Abhiyan From September 17, Says NDA-Ruled States Will Introduce UCC Before 2029

Mumbai, Sep 13: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ushered in a new era of “politics of performance” by moving India away from corruption, casteism and dynastic politics.

Addressing a press conference to announce a month-long campaign from September 17 to mark Modi’s birthday and 25 years of his rule in Gujarat and at the Centre, Shah said Modi’s tenure was studded with rare achievements, transforming India into a global powerhouse of security and economic might.

Shah, who had multiple engagements in the city, also asserted that NDA governments in 21 states will introduce Uniform Civil Code before 2029.

The campaign, ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’ whose slogan is “Jan Seva Hi Prabhu Seva”, will seek to promote people’s participation in the goal of making India a developed country by 2047, he said.

“Before 2014, Indian politics was suffering from three scourges -- corruption, casteism and dynastic politics. In the political era from 2014 to 2026, these three have ended and the people have moved the country towards a politics of performance,” he said.

Shah said the BJP and its allies and people across the country will organise the campaign from September 17, Modi’s birthday, to October 17.

“Modi has freed the country from policy paralysis, coalition compulsions and poor decision-making. His 25 years of service to the nation are studded with rare achievements transforming India into a global powerhouse of security and economic might,” Shah said.

He said Modi had repeatedly won elections and continued to serve the people and work for the welfare of the state and nation for such a long time.

The campaign will have 12 major programmes, including blood donation, painting and speech competitions for young people, beneficiary interactions, motorcycle yatras between Vadnagar (Modi’s birthplace) and Varanasi (his Lok Sabha constituency), and events aimed at ensuring saturation of government welfare schemes.

Shah said the country had witnessed a strong foreign and defence policy based on the principle of “India First”, while the economy had moved from being counted among the ‘Fragile Five’ to among the top five globally. He also cited a 7.8 per cent GDP growth in the first quarter as evidence of India’s strong economic performance.

He credited GST, the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile trinity, banking reforms, FDI, the Production Linked Incentive scheme and ‘Make in India’ with strengthening the country.

Shah said 25 crore people had been brought out of poverty and listed welfare measures, including free foodgrains to 81 crore people, Ujjwala gas connections and healthcare cover of up to Rs 5 lakh for 44 crore people.

India’s infrastructure had also undergone rapid expansion. Shah said the number of airports had risen from around 75 to 150 and talked about dedicated freight corridors and Vande Bharat trains.

He highlighted the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam providing for 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures.

Highlighting the government’s initiatives for women, he said, “Triple talaq has been abolished, giving Muslim women equal rights. We have introduced the Uniform Civil Code in several states and I am confident that in the 21 BJP-NDA ruled states, we will introduce the UCC before 2029.”

The Union minister said the government had also given greater importance to Indian languages, resolved issues such as Article 370, Left-wing extremism and security challenges in the Northeast. Surgical strikes, air strikes and Operation Sindoor had established a policy of “zero tolerance” towards terrorism, he said.

Shah said the government was committed to taking out each and every illegal infiltrator from the country.

On the government’s anti-drugs campaign, Shah said he had recently launched the ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan’.

He also cited the new Parliament building, Sengol, Chandrayaan-3, Aditya-L1 and One Rank One Pension among the government’s achievements.

On foreign policy, Shah said the country's standing in the world 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 said Modi was the first PM in six decades to be elected three times, describing it as an indication of his 25-year political record.

Earlier in the day, he inaugurated a manuscript exhibition at the Asiatic Society of Mumbai and said Indian knowledge, history, traditions, languages and manuscripts must be preserved and taken to people across the country and the world.

Decolonisation of the country’s history and knowledge does not mean erasing the past, but presenting the “historical truth to the world in an authentic manner from an Indian perspective”, he said.

In another event, where he presented the 52nd India Gem & Jewellery Awards, Shah said Indians should control the entire lab-grown diamond ecosystem and build globally dominant brands, asserting the market for such diamonds could expand 50-fold in terms of volume.

“It is my appeal to you that lab-grown diamonds' entire ecosystem should be in the control of people of Bharat. It should be our jewellers who should be controlling it. You can do it,” he said.

In the morning, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde met Shah at the Sahyadri Guest House over breakfast. The meeting lasted nearly 30 minutes, Shinde’s aide said.

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