Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu releases book ‘Modi@20’, says even PM’s detractors agree he is a phenomena

Shah says ‘all-inclusive development’ is hallmark of Modi’s long administrative journey, as Jaishankar credits him for development-oriented diplomacy

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 11

Comparing Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Mahatma Gandhi, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said as the latter took the freedom struggle out of the hands of the elite to turn it into a mass movement, the former converted developmental initiatives into a mass movement.

Addressing a gathering after releasing the book “Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery”, Naidu asserted that even Modi’s detractors agree that he is a “phenomenon”.

He said so in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar and several other ministers in the Modi government.

He said Modi put to effective use his valuable learnings to write a development script for his state of Gujarat as its chief minister and scaled up the same at national level as the Prime Minister. He said Modi’s vision, his dreams and ‘Mission India’ have been shaped by his extensive travels and insightful, experiential journey.

“This is the fundamental differentiator that makes Modi unique in several ways. There is probably no other personality in public life in contemporary times, who showcases a comparable experiential journey as Modi,” Naidu said.

Noting that Modi, the first Prime Minister born after Independence, has carved out a unique place in the history of post-independent India in the past 20 years, Naidu said, “Even his detractors, opponents agree that Modi is a phenomenon. He is a phenomenon, whether you like it or not, at the national level and even at the international level. We are all seeing reports of a person who previously had no administrative experience, after becoming a chief minister doing wonderful work, and then becoming a Prime Minister. In the international arena also, he is recognised and respected and thus, India is also respected and recognised.”

Shah, on his part, lauded Modi’s two decades as head of the government and said the dispensations in his leadership have scripted the “all-inclusive development” of the country.

Shah said, “Those who believe in the all-round and all-inclusive development of India, those who believe in the path of a complete personality, for all such people who work in social service and politics, this book is going to emerge like a Gita.”

Shah said the five-decades of the public life of PM Modi from the courtyard of poverty to becoming the Prime Minister of the country, from being a small worker to becoming the most popular leader in all political parties is contained in this book.

Lauding the efforts of the Prime Minister, Shah said PM Modi presented an excellent example of how schemes can be made for the last person of society in a sensitive manner, and how they can be made available to the people.

Meanwhile, Jaishankar said the PM practised security-centric foreign policy and development-focused diplomacy. “He focused on border infrastructure development to meet security challenges and also took interest in trade, as he addressed all our embassies to reach US$ 400 billion in exports.

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