NDA felicitates PM on Op Sindoor; Modi praises alliance, lauds Shah

New Delhi, Aug 5 : In his first address to NDA MPs in over a year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday emphasised its collective identity as a natural and organic alliance, asserting that its journey since its foundation in 1998 is dotted with successes and has many more achievements in store.

He said members of the BJP and other NDA constituents should together, as part of the ruling combine, participate vigorously in various programmes, noting that his own party may be weak compared to allies in a few regions.

At an NDA parliamentary party meeting, which was last held on July 2, 2024, Modi was on Tuesday felicitated for his “exceptional leadership” in marshalling India’s response following the Pahalgam terror attack, and a resolution showered praise on the armed forces as well for their “unmatched courage” and “unwavering commitment” during Operation Sindoor and Operation Mahadev.

In his address, Modi noted that Home Minister Amit Shah has become the longest-serving incumbent in his ministry, overtaking BJP veteran L K Advani, a co-founder of the grouping in 1998.

“It is just the beginning,” he said, adding that there is a long way to go, triggering some buzz among MPs about the implication of the statement.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju later told reporters that the prime minister spoke in the context of the NDA’s long and successful journey and that it will notch up many more achievements.

Shah has been at the helm since the Modi 2.0 government took over in 2019, and his stint is of six years and 65 days so far. His tenure has been marked by some of the highlights of the government, including the abrogation of Article 370 and the successful anti-naxal operation.

The prime minister said the Opposition must be regretting its decision to seek a debate on the terror strike and India’s military response, according to sources, as he asserted that it was exposed during the discussion.

Modi recalled that he had begun his reply in the Lok Sabha with the assertion that he would present the “stand of Bharat” and praised the points made by the speakers from the National Democratic Alliance.

They are harming themselves, he said of the opposition parties as an MP loudly raised the Hindi proverb of “aa bail mujhe maar” from the audience.

Modi also took a swipe at Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, a day after the former Congress president was pulled up by the Supreme Court for his claim of China encroaching on Indian land under the current government.

Gandhi makes childish and unsubstantiated comments about Indian territory and security, and the court has served him a lesson, Modi said without naming the Congress leader.

The sources said Modi spoke about upcoming events like Tiranga Yatra, which the BJP annually celebrates in the run-up to Independence Day, and National Space Day, which falls on August 23. He told the MPs that they should participate in them enthusiastically as NDA members.

At places, the BJP may not be as strong as some of its allies but its members should work together with them as NDA partners, he added.

The sources present in the meeting said the broader message of the prime minister, who is also the leader of the NDA, was about maintaining cohesion and coordination in the alliance.

Leaders of allies joined the BJP leadership in the front row during the meeting.

The BJP and its allies are in power in 19 out of 28 states, and are gearing up to fight the assembly polls in Bihar.

Modi noted that August 5 was a historic day as Article 370, which gave special rights to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated on this day in 2019. The ground-breaking ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya was also held on this day in 2020.

The NDA government has followed the Constitution in its true spirit, he said.

The MPs of the BJP-led ruling alliance met here in their only second such meeting during Parliament’s sessions since the government was formed in June 2024.

The NDA resolution paid tributes to 26 civilians who lost their lives in the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam by terrorists linked to Pakistan.

Praising Modi, it said, “The NDA Parliamentary Party lauds the exceptional leadership displayed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during these times. His unwavering resolve, visionary statesmanship and resolute command have not only steered the nation with purpose but also ignited a renewed spirit of unity and pride in the hearts of all Indians.”

After Operation Sindoor, Modi ensured that 59 MPs from different parties visited 32 countries to present India’s point of view, one of the most comprehensive global outreach ever launched by India to highlight how it has been a victim of terror, it said.

“The participation of Opposition MPs shows the maturity of our democracy and the statesmanship of the Prime Minister, who believes that in matters of national interest, we are all together,” it added.

The US designating ‘The Resistance Front’ (TRF), a LeT proxy responsible for the Pahalgam attack, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the BRICS Joint Declaration condemning the Pahalgam attack reflect a win for India’s diplomatic stance against terrorism inflicted on its soil by Pakistan, the resolution said.

“The developments reflect India’s rising clout on the global stage and international affirmation,” it said.

Shah becomes India’s longest serving Home Minister

New Delhi, Aug 5 : From the abrogation of Article 370 to completely overhauling criminal laws and from setting a March 2026 deadline to eliminate the Naxal menace to ensuring the surrender of 10,000 militants in the Northeast, Amit Shah has achieved several milestones in his over six-year tenure as the Union Home Minister, the longest in history.

Known as the second most influential figure in the country after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah has completed 2,258 days in office, surpassing L K Advani’s 2,256 days as Union Home Minister.

He has been the pivotal force of Prime Minister Modi’s government, giving new directions to the Ministry of Home Affairs in charting its course in maintaining internal security and peace across the country.

At the NDA parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday, the Prime Minister praised the Home Minister and noted that Shah has become the longest-serving incumbent in the MHA.

With 2,258 days in office, Shah has now surpassed Advani’s tenure of 2,256 days as home minister. Before Shah and Advani, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first home minister, served for 1,218 days, sources said.

Six-year-old Shah’s tenure has been marked by several historic decisions, including the abrogation of Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, the crackdown on terrorist and separatist organisations in Jammu and Kashmir and the strengthening of internal security.

It was Shah who piloted three criminal laws — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam — which replaced the colonial era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872, respectively. The new laws came into effect on July 1, 2024.

It was during Shah’s tenure that Parliament enacted the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which envisages giving Indian nationality to persecuted minorities — Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Christian and Parsi — coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

As a home minister, he has set a March 31, 2026, deadline to end the problem of Naxals and has achieved great success so far by freeing large areas from the clutches of the red ultras.

Shah has banned all constituents of the Jammu and Kashmir-based separatist conglomerate Hurriyat Conference and many of its leaders are now languishing in jail for suspected terror links.

He has also launched a campaign against narcotics and their trade, with over 10 lakh kg of contraband, with a street value of Rs 11,961 crore, that was seized during a special drive being destroyed.

In the Northeast, Shah has signed 12 peace agreements with different insurgent groups, thus ensuring the surrender of over 10,000 militants with arms and ammunition.

Recognised for his political acumen and strategic prowess, the senior BJP leader has played a pivotal role in the phenomenal growth of the saffron party that helped it to cross the 300-seat mark in the 2019 Lok Sabha election when he was the party’s national president.

Shah is a person dedicated to the saffron ideology and is often described by admirers as a modern-day Chanakya. He made history by becoming the youngest president of the Bharatiya Janata Party at 49 in 2014, later assuming office as one of the youngest Union Home Ministers at 54 in 2019.

Born into a prominent Gujarati family in Mumbai in 1964, Shah’s journey began at the age of 16 when he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a ‘swayamsevak’ in 1980, swiftly immersing himself in the activities of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

Before coming to national politics, Shah was the home minister of Gujarat when Modi was the chief minister. Shah won the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency for the first time in 2019 and subsequently took charge as the Union Home Minister.

He got elected to the Lok Sabha in 2024 again and took oath as Union Home Minister for the second time that year.