Modi’s 12 years in office just the beginning: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday (June 20, 2026) that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 12 years in office is just the beginning and the country will be ruled by BJP and NDA for many more years.

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Mr. Shah also said that the Prime Minister’s 12 years in office will occupy a significant place in the history of Independent India.

“When the history of independent India is written, the chapter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 12 years in office will be recorded for creating a reborn India and for enhancing the country’s prestige around the world,” Mr. Shah said while addressing a gathering after launching the Goddess Ambabai Temple Corridor project here in Maharashtra.

At another public meeting in Ichalkaranji in Kolhapur district, Mr Shah said: “Mr Modi’s 12 years in office is just the beginning. For many years the BJP and the NDA will pay.” He said tasks that were once considered impossible had been accomplished under Mr. Modi’s leadership, citing the construction of the Ayodhya Ram temple, the redevelopment of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, the Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines, and work on the Somnath and Kamakhya temples.

“Cultural Renaissance”

Mr. Shah said a cultural renaissance was taking place across the country under the mantra of “Vikas bhi, Virasat bhi” (development and heritage) and described the Ambabai Temple Corridor as another step to preserve India’s religious and cultural heritage.

He said the ₹500 crore project will transform the seventh-century shrine into a modern pilgrimage center equipped with AI-based security systems, heritage galleries and a light and sound show.

Mr Shah said the 41 temples in and around the Mahalaxmi temple would be conserved in consultation with the archeology department. He said, “Spending ₹1,500 crore on places where our history, religion and culture reside is not a big amount. Such places inspire the entire country.”

He said Mr. Modi had recently become the country’s longest-serving prime minister and credited him with strengthening India across sectors from infrastructure and manufacturing to semiconductors, quantum engineering, software and space technology.

In attacks on the Congress, Mr Shah said, during the UPA rule 12 years ago, bomb blasts were frequent, but “the then Prime Minister was silent”. But during Mr. Modi’s time, India responded to the attacks in Uri, Pulwama and Pahalgam with surgical strikes and Operation Sindoor, he said.

The Indian Armed Forces have been modernized in the last 12 years. Security agencies have checked terrorism in Kashmir while India’s Northeast is peaceful and Naxalism has become history, he said.

He claimed that the Congress never cared about the farmers. Between 2004 and 2014, the Congress waived off ₹60,000 crore worth of farm loans. According to PM Modi, a total of ₹4,28,000 crore has been transferred to farmers’ accounts in 22 installments.

The Modi government also waived taxes to the tune of ₹46,000 crore after farmers sought tax exemption on profits earned by sugar mills, he said.

Mr Shah also announced an initiative for cooperative sugar mills that cannot install ethanol units and said a ₹1,500 crore project would be set up in Kolhapur to help the factories process their products and the profits would be sent back to them.

In Surveys in Bengal

Referring to the BJP’s victory in the West Bengal polls, Mr Shah said: “We owe the people of Bengal their trust and we will repay it by identifying every infiltrator and throwing them out of the country.” He took a jab at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, accusing him of sitting on the lap of the Congress and trying to turn infiltrators into a vote bank, warning that India was not a dharmshala.

In an apparent reference to the looming split in the Sena (UBT), Mr Shah said earlier people had to refer to the faction led by Shinde separately, but “now there is no faction left and there is only one Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde”. The Sena (UBT) is staring at a crisis as at least six Lok Sabha MPs are believed to have rebelled against Mr Thackeray and are likely to defect to the ruling Shiv Sena. “These Congress leaders and Uddhav ji, who is sitting on the lap of Congress, want to survive by turning infiltrators into a vote bank. I want to make it clear to them that this country is not a dharmshala (charity shelter). Only those who belong to this country will live here,” Mr Shah said.

Mr. Shah was in Kolhapur to lay the foundation for the new Pradakshina Marg and for the conservation work of the Parivara Devata Mandir at the Mahalaxmi Temple.

Published – 20 Jun 2026 23:06 IST