Modi repeats call for swadeshi as he enters 25th year as govt head

In a series of posts on X, Modi marked the milestone with a pledge to build self-reliant India through swadeshi push.

"Over the last 11 years, We the People of India have worked together and achieved many transformations. Our path breaking efforts have empowered people from all across India, especially our Nari Shakti, Yuva Shakti and hardworking Annadatas. Over 25 crore people have been removed from the clutches of poverty. India is seen as a bright spot among major global economies. We are home to one of the largest healthcare and social security schemes in the world. Our farmers are innovating and ensuring that our nation is self-reliant. We have undertaken extensive reforms and the popular sentiment is to make India Aatmanirbhar across all sectors, reflecting in the clarion call of ‘Garv Se Kaho, Yeh Swadeshi Hai," Modi said as he recalled his journey.

PM said it was on October 25, 2001 under very testing circumstances that he took charge as Gujarat CM.

"The state was suffering due to a massive earthquake. Preceding years had witnessed a super cyclone, successive droughts and political instability. Those challenges strengthened the resolve to serve people and rebuild Gujarat with renewed vigour and hope," PM said.

Modi also remembered his late mother Hira Ben telling him to never take bribe and work for the poor. Modi said he thereafter worked to serve the very last person in the queue. Modi also said there was a sense of disenchantment when he became Gujarat CM and a wide perception was Gujarat could never rise again.

"Common citizens, including farmers, complained about lack of power and water. Agriculture was in the doldrums and industrial growth was stagnant. From there, we all worked collectively to make Gujarat a powerhouse of good governance," Modi said.

Narrating the story of Gujarat's transformation, Modi said once a drought-prone state it became a top performer in agriculture.

"The culture of trading expanded into robust industrial and manufacturing capacities. Regular curfews became a thing of the past. Social and physical infrastructure received a boost," he said talking about his victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

"Those days, the nation was witnessing a crisis of trust and governance. The then UPA Government was synonymous with the worst form of corruption, cronyism and policy paralysis. India was seen as a weak link in the global order. But, the wisdom of the people of India gave our alliance a thumping majority and also ensured that our Party got an absolute majority, a first after three long decades," Modi said hailing Indians for a third historic term to the NDA in 2024 and promising to continue working with "Constitution as his guide."