Prime Minister Narendra Modi is known for his high levels of energy but, the scale of his activity in the last few months will surprise everyone. In the period from 25th December to 1st May, which is around 125 days, PM Modi has held 200 programmes across 27 states and Union Territories.
The Prime Minister joined 30 programmes in Delhi itself. 14 Cabinet meetings have been held since the start of the year.
These numbers speak for themselves. They also offer a unique glimpse into the working style and multi-tasking abilities of PM Modi.
Through these programmes, PM Modi would have touched base with almost every Indian in 125 days.
What is most striking about these programmes is the diversity. From students to scientists, farmers to entrepreneurs, foreign heads of state to Party workers, the calendar of PM Modi has it all!
Covering the length and breadth of India:
From Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Jamnagar to Silchar, there is no part of the nation that the Prime Minister did not visit.
In February 2019, he embarked on a visit to Jammu and Kashmir where in one day he covered all three regions of the state- Ladakh, Jammu and the Kashmir valley. Development projects worth thousands of crores were dedicated to the nation.
In Srinagar, the Prime Minister held a wide-ranging dialogue with the people of the valley. He also went to the scenic Dal Lake and joined a memorable boat-ride.
The Northeast has always been a focus area of the Government, with not only the Prime Minister but also top ministers and officials visiting the region every fortnight.
Since January 2019, PM Modi has made multiple visits to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura. In the visits before the setting in of the Model Code of Conduct, there was great emphasis on infra projects and sectors like energy and agriculture.
Pro-people promises, swift delivery:
On 1st February, the NDA Government announced two marquee schemes- the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi and the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Man Dhan Yojana. The former provides monetary support to farmers while the latter assures a monthly pension to the unorganised sector.
Both schemes are ambitious and unprecedented in terms of scale. And, in typical Modi style both schemes were launched in quick time of their announcement by the Prime Minister.
PM Modi went to Gorakhpur on 24th February to launch the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi while he went to Ahmedabad to launch the Shram Yogi Man Dhan Yojana on 5th March.
Cultural and historical connect:
On 24th February, PM Modi was at the holy Sangam in Prayagraj, where he took a dip and took part in a Puja ceremony. He became the first Prime Minister in years to visit a Kumbh Mela.
This visit indicated the Prime Minister’s pride towards India’s rich culture and the desire to draw more youngsters towards our rich ethos.
In the last few months, PM Modi visited several such centres closely associated with India’s history and culture.
At the end of December 2018, PM Modi was on the shores of Port Blair to pay tributes to Veer Savarkar and several other greats at the iconic Cellular Jail.
In Port Blair, he unfurled the Tricolour to mark the 75th anniversary of the un-furling of the National Flag by Netaji Bose. He also addressed a mammoth public meeting at the same spot where Netaji Bose spoke after hoisting the Tricolour.
Netaji Bose has always been an influence on PM Modi. On the Jayanti of Subhas Bose, PM Modi inaugurated a museum of Netaji Subhas Bose and the Indian Na-tional Army, which he named Kranti Mandir. Located in the Red Fort, the muse-um showcases the courage and valour of the INA.
The Museum complex in the Red Fort also has exhibits remembering the martyrs of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
On 30th January, the Punya Tithi of Mahatma Gandhi, PM Modi was in Guja-rat’s Dandi to inaugurate a state-of-the-art Salt Satyagraha Memorial and Muse-um.
In the same spirit, PM Modi was in Kanyakumari where he spent time at the Vi-vekananda Kendra, which is an important cultural centre there.
During his various tours, PM Modi has prayed at iconic temples in different parts of India. In January, he was at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram and in March he was at the Tripura Sundari Temple in Udaipur, Tripura.
He also sent his good wishes to mark the foundation stone of a Temple in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Kashi connect: Where PM becomes MP:
In the last 150 days, PM Modi (rather, MP Modi) has visited his constituency Varanasi 5 times.
The nature of programmes has been wide-ranging. In January he went for the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas, while in February he launched various development works. On 8th March, International Day of Women, PM Modi interacted with several women and Self Help Groups in Kashi. His April visit was related to fil-ing his nomination papers seeking re-election. This included the massive road-show where lakhs of people were on the streets of Kashi to support PM Modi.
A unique project for a blessed land:
After Kashi elected PM Modi to be their MP, the city has seen unparalleled de-velopment work especially in local infrastructure, electricity and cleanliness.
One project that stands out is the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project, which will transform Varanasi. The project aims at improving infrastructure at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. One of the most fascinating aspects of the project is the res-toration of hundreds of Temples in the area around the Vishwanath Temple that were hidden in houses. The project also envisions connecting the Ganga with the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
Locals in Varanasi say that after Devi Ahilyabai Holkar, this is the first time somebody is thinking about the Temple and its surrounding areas at this scale.
Harnessing Raksha Shakti and remembering our veterans:
On a February winter evening in Delhi, thousands of veterans gathered at Delhi’s Dhyan Chand Stadium. The occasional drizzle was no deterrent and the mood was clearly celebratory. The occasion was a rally of ex-servicemen to be ad-dressed by PM Modi to be followed by the dedication of Rashtriya Samar Smarak or the National War Memorial to the nation.
It has been 70 long years but nobody thought of a grand National War Memorial as a tribute to our brave hearts martyred in the line of duty. It was PM Modi who took this decision and in quick time, a grand memorial was ready.
At the rally, PM talked at length about his vision for the defence sector, particu-larly making India self-indigenous as far as defence production is concerned.
It is this pursuit that took him to Amethi in UP on 4th March 2019 to inaugurate a rifle unit, which would produce modern guns. Earlier in January, the Prime Minister was in Hazira, Gujarat to inaugurate the L&T gun factory. During the programme, PM Modi also sat on the K9 Vajra artillery gun.
Strides in space:
On 27th March, PM Modi delivered a historic message to the nation in which he announced the success of the A-SAT (Anti-Satellite Missile Test). This was a landmark moment in India’s history, where India joined an exclusive list of na-tions. PM’s address was a keenly watched one that brought a great spirit of pride and self-confidence in the minds of 130 crore Indians.
Thumbs up for science and innovation:
The last few months have seen many forums where PM Modi has expressed his vision on science, technology and innovation.
The year began with the annual Indian Science Congress in Jalandhar, Punjab. PM Modi also interacted with Nobel Prize winners and top scientists.
In February, PM joined the Smart India Hackathon where young minds shared their tech innovations with the Prime Minister.
In a series of meetings, PM Modi engaged with heads of software companies to discuss the way ahead as far as science and technology is concerned.
There was also an extensive interaction with scientists who won the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards.
Making India a hub for entertainment:
The entertainment industry in India has made the nation proud internationally. PM Modi has regularly met with the industry and taken their inputs on how to encourage the industry even further.
At a star studded programme on 19th January, PM Modi inaugurated the Na-tional Museum of Indian Cinema that takes everyone through the golden history of Indian cinema. He also announced key reforms that will help the entertainment industry and bring simplicity in their work when it comes to approvals.
The PM has also had individual interactions with leading Bollywood actors in-cluding Karan Johar, Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt among others.
Interactions that stand out:
There have been some programmes on the PM’s calendar that stand out for their humane nature.
Nobody can forget PM Modi washing the feet of sanitation workers during the Kumbh in Prayagraj. The PM himself said this is an occasion that will forever be etched in his memory.
PM Modi also honoured champions of the Swachh Bharat Mission at a pro-gramme in Kurukshetra, Haryana.
During one of his visits to Kashi, PM Modi was received by a group of Divyang sisters and brothers including one of whom mimicked the Prime Minister and other Ministers. PM Modi burst out into laughter.
In February, PM travelled to Mathura to feed the 3 billionth meal of the Akshaya Patra Foundation. He interacted with little children and served them their food.
Similar interactions that stand out are those with beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat, the flagship healthcare scheme of the Central Government. In Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, the PM sat with a select group of beneficiaries who shared how Ayushman Bharat changed their lives. Many of them even turned emotional while sharing their life journeys.
Development, economy and infrastructure:
Programmes relating to the economy and infrastructure have prominently figured on the PM’s tour diary. On 15th February, he flagged off the Vande Bharat Ex-press flagged off from New Delhi Railway station. This is an engineering marvel, which will provide quick and comfortable travels to the people of India.
Other leading infrastructure works PM Modi inaugurated include the Kollam By-pass in Kerala and the Bogibeel Bridge in Assam.
In January, PM Modi spent two days at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, where he elaborated on the economic agenda of the Government. On the sidelines of the Summit he also held several bilateral meetings.
These include meetings with the Prime Minister of Malta, President of Uzbeki-stan, Prime Minister of Czech Republic, Prime Minister of Denmark and other Ministers.
In April, there was a separate interaction with traders in Delhi where PM ex-panded on the Government’s efforts for small business and the MSME sector.
Party connect:
In a unique method of connecting with BJP workers, BJP took to technology and started the ‘Mera Booth, Sabse Mazboot’ interactions. In a series of such pro-grammes, PM addressed BJP workers from various Parliamentary constituencies and took questions from them. These programmes gave an insight to the organi-sational genius of the Prime Minister including the appeal to strengthen the party at the booth level.
Interviews and interactions:
As the campaign for the Lok Sabha polls progressed, PM Modi took part in var-ious interviews with both print and electronic media. His interviews include a walk-through in the lawns of the PM residence with Times Now and an interac-tion with India Today on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi.
There was also the non-political dialogue with Akshay Kumar, where PM shared facets about his life that were never heard of, including from his childhood.
PM Modi met the Editor of Financial Times, where he spoke the Indian economy and the role of India in the global order.
Townhall Programmes:
In order to deepen connect with India’s youth, PM Modi joined three record breaking Townhall Programmes.
One was in Surat, where PM highlighted his vision for India of the 21st century.
There was also the Pariksha Pe Charcha 2.0 Townhall where PM spoke to stu-dents, parents and teachers on how to beat the exam stress.
At the end of March, PM took part in the ‘Mai Bhi Chowkidar’ programme where again young professionals from all walks of life took part.
Rocking roadshows:
No political campaign is ever complete without the vibrancy of roadshows. These shows give leaders and voters a special opportunity to engage. PM Modi has held three roadshows so far, one each in Bhubaneswar, Ranchi and Varanasi. Each of them was joined by large number of people.
Foreign policy initiatives:
For every Prime Minister, foreign policy is an important area of attention. In February, PM Modi went to South Korea for a bilateral visit. During that visit he also received the Seoul Peace Prize.
The last few months witnessed incoming visits by the President of Argentina, Mr. Mauricio Macri and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, His Highness Mohammad bin Salman. Both these visits in February led to vital strengthening of India’s bi-lateral partnerships with important allies in South America and West Asia.
In the last two months, PM Modi has also been conferred with top civilian hon-ours of Russia and UAE. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi personally announced the conferring of the Zayed Medal to PM Modi while President Putin announced that PM Modi would be receiving the Order Of St. Andrew The Apostle.
PM Modi dedicated these honours to the people of India and India’s culture of peace and brotherhood.
Parliamentary commitments:
PM Modi attended the Budget Session of the Parliament and spoke twice during the session. The first was a detailed reply to the President’s Address to both Houses and the second time was at the end of the Session, which also put the curtains down on the 16th Lok Sabha.
Protecting India at all costs:
The month of February witnessed the horrific Pulwama attack, where terrorists struck at a convoy of Indian Jawans. Never to be cowed down, PM Modi dealt with this crisis with courage and statesmanship. He assured the nation that the sacrifices of our Jawans will not go in vain. Our Armed Forces were given full powers to retaliate and the outcome was the Air Strikes that put Pakistan on the defensive.
PM Modi’s proactive foreign policy has diminished the stature and voice of Pa-kistan at the world stage. On 1st May, Masood Azhar was declared a terrorist by the UN, thanks to the support from a large number of nations.
Two ‘Mann Ki Baats’ and more…
PM took to the radio to address the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programmes of January and February. During the programme in February, the PM announced that since he is going to be a candidate for the Parliamentary polls, there would be no ‘Mann Ki Baat’ for March and April. He added that the next programme will be on the last Sunday of May, which is 26th, the same day Narendra Modi took oath as the Prime Minister of India in 2014.
Extensive and exhaustive:
From interviews to interactions, Townhalls to bilaterals, public meetings to polit-ical rallies, it’s clearly been a busy few months for the Prime Minister.
The rigorous schedule brings with it long flights, chopper journeys and days that begin early as well as end late.
However, it is the joy of being among people, engaging with them that keeps PM Modi going. It is this energy and passion that has placed PM Modi firmly in the hearts and minds of 130 crore Indians.
