Shri Narendra Modi’s 20 years’ “Journey of Good Governance” as the head of an elected government has been nothing less than “Crown of Thorns”. Be it Gujarat earthquake or the Corona crisis, Shri Narendra Modi turned a disaster into an opportunity. Shri Narendra Modi, due to his strong will power, prevented the Corona pandemic from turning into a calamity for the common people in India up to a large extent. Shri Narendra Modi’s role of leading from the front during a calamity has proved: “Jab Hausla bna liya Unchi Udaan ka, Fir dekhna Fizool hai Qad Aasmaan ka...” Shri Narendra Modi’s 20 years’ journey of good governance, has replaced “Parikrama Politics” (Politics of Circumambulation) with the “Commitment of Performance” from the state to the Centre.

This has naturally perturbed all those who considered “Circumambulation in Corridors of Power” as their only strength and passport to success for the last several decades. During his 20 years in Government and public life, earlier as Gujarat Chief Minister and now Prime Minister of the country, Shri Narendra Modi has proved his credibility as a strong leader committed to welfare of every section of the society. When parts of Gujarat such as Bhuj, Kucth, Bharuch, Anzar, Gandhinagar, Rajkot etc were devastated by the 26 January 2001 earthquake, then Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi was leading from the front to tackle the challenges of one of the worst earthquakes in the world history. Shri Narendra Modi made every person of the state feel that their leader was with them in this hour of crisis. This has been the strength of Shri Narendra Modi. Shri Modi became victorious over challenges emerged due to the earthquake with his strong will and commitment to service to the people of the state.

The entire world was surprise by the leadership Shri Narendra Modi displayed while tackling the situation. More than 80 per cent sources of food and water had been destroyed in the tragedy, lakhs of people had become homeless, thousands of the people lost their lives. But Shri Narendra Modi, who had taken charge of the Chief Minister post recently, controlled the situation, he cleared the way to improve the situation. Now, when people from other countries visit these areas of Gujarat, they become surprised by development that took place in less than a decade in these areas. There are no signs of devastation, today these places are considered to be one of the best in the world.

When in January 2020, discussion on Corona was at very initial stage, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had started working on effective roadmaps to deal with the possible Corona problem. The World Health Organisation had declared Corona a pandemic on 11 th March 2020. But 2 weeks before the World Health Organisation declaring Corona a pandemic; India had started screening of those people coming by international flights at the airports. Isolation for 2 weeks was made compulsory for those coming from foreign countries on or after 1 March 2020.

In recent months, India along with almost all other nations of the world has being going through an unprecedented crisis resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic. Like a true leader, Prime Minister Shri Modi has led the fight against this pandemic from the front. He has played a proactive role to mitigate the challenges that face a vast and populous country like India with its federal structure of governance and administration.

Timely actions and issuance of pan India guidelines have helped the nation tackle the Corona challenge and the other challenges that came along such as floods, typhoons and the swarms of “Tiddis” (locusts) even as certain “Fisaddis” (losers) tried to create confusion. Prime Minister Shri Modi’s effective and dynamic leadership, performance, hard work and better management of resources ensured that the problems of the common people were mitigated to the maximum during these very difficult times. This passionate commitment to the welfare of the people and their everlasting trust in the Modi Government during the Corona pandemic has resulted in India speedily becoming self-reliant in the health sector. India has not only become self-reliant in production of N-95 masks, PPE, ventilators and other equipment but is now helping other nations to meet their needs.

During the Corona pandemic, in an unprecedented measure, the Modi Government provided- Free ration to more than 81 crore people; About 90 thousand crore rupees were transferred directly into the bank accounts of more than 41 crore needy people; Free gas cylinders were given to about 8 crore families; Garib Kalyan Package worth Rs 1.70 lakh crore has been given; Rs 1500 have been given into bank accounts of 20 crore women; Rs 19,000 crore has been given under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. More than 60 lakh migrant labourers reached back to their home states during Corona pandemic through “Shramik Special Trains”and Rs 11,000 crore have been given to the states under State Disaster Relief Fund for providing assistance to migrant labourers. Organised Vande Matram flights to bring back stranded Indian citizens from across the globe.

More than 40 crore needy have been included into mainstream economy under “Jan Dhan Yojana”. “One Nation One Ration Card” has been implemented which is benefitting about 67 crore people and additional Rs 40,000 have been allocated for MGNREGA. National Digital Health Mission has been launched. Every Indian will be given a Health ID. The world’s largest health care scheme “Modi Care” has become the guarantee of health and well-being of the people. “Modi Care” has covered about 40 per cent of the country’s population. The steps taken by the Modi Government in health care sector during the last six years have ensured that despite of huge population, India has been successful in containing the affect of the Corona pandemic to a great extent.

These steps instilled a sense of “Development with Trust” among the people of the country at a time when the Pandemic was threatening to destroy and dampen the spirit of the country. Apart battling the Corona crisis, the Modi Government also continued to bring in historic and path breaking reforms in socio-economic-educational fields, administration, trade, labour, defence, coal, civil aviation, power distribution, space, forest land, agriculture, communication, banking, investment, street vendors. These bold reforms have ensured that India has converted disaster into opportunity.

Most of the villages, towns of the country have been made open defecation free; electricity has reached to all the villages of the country. All these measures are a result of “Commitment of Performance”. Record number of more than 1500 un-necessary laws have been scrapped; Triple Talaq has been abolished; Muslim women are allowed to perform Haj without Mehram (Male companion); After the scrapping of Article 370, proactive steps have been taken for the development of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh; Centuries old Ram Mandir issue has been resolved amicably and construction of a grand Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has been started. All these steps have created and reiterated the work culture mantra of “Reform, Perform & Transform” instead of “Circumambulation”.

India’s prestige and standing at the global stage has also been boosted under the exceptional leadership of Prime Minister Shri Modi. Yoga has been internationally recognised; India has become a Space Super power; United Nations and countries such as Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Russia, UAE have conferred their highest civilian awards upon Shri Modi; surgical and air strikes against the enemies of the country were carried out sending a clear message to the world that India has the will and the capability to strike at enemies wherever they may try to hide.

The economic slowdown has been the biggest challenge before the world as economies of several developed nations have been severely affected due to the Corona pandemic. Indian economy has also felt the affect of Corona challenges. But Shri Modi’s efforts towards encouragement and assistance to the villages and farmers ensured that the agriculture sector achieved growth even during this pandemic. Besides, India received FDI worth 22 Billion dollars validating foreign investor confidence that the Indian economy is in safe and strong hands. The Indian economy will strongly accelerate further in the coming days.

The world is going through a stressful period as the Pandemic has tested the resolve and limits of governments all over. The Modi Government has taken up the challenge head on and has shown that with a visionary leadership and the right focus on the most vulnerable and the most impacted, the adverse effects of the crisis can be mitigated and turned into opportunities with the benefits percolating down to those who need them most.