Amit Shah claims India has entered an era of 'politics of performance'

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Narendra Modi government had moved India away from corruption, casteism and dynastic politics and ushered in an era of “politics of performance”. Addressing a press conference to announce the ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’, Shah said the month-long campaign would run from September 17 to October 17 to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday and “25 years of Modi rule in Gujarat and Centre”.

Taking a direct jab at the Congress, Shah claimed that Indian politics had moved away from what he described as the three major scourges of the pre-2014 era — corruption, casteism and dynastic politics — towards a “politics of performance”. “Before 2014, Indian politics was suffering from three scourges -- corruption, casteism and dynastic politics. In the political era from 2014 to 2026, these three have ended and the people have moved the country towards a politics of performance,” Shah said. He added that the Modi government had also moved the country beyond what he described as “policy paralysis, coalition compulsions and poor decision-making”.

The Union Home Minister also highlighted the government’s foreign and defence policies, saying India’s interests had been placed at the centre of decision-making. “For the first time in 12 years, the people have witnessed a foreign policy with a strong backbone. Whether it is our defence policy or our foreign policy, the guiding principle is ‘India First.’ India’s interests are paramount to us,” he said.

Shah also cited India’s economic performance, saying the country had moved from the “Fragile Five” to the top five economies. “Recent first-quarter data shows India leading the major economies with a GDP growth rate of 7.8%,” he said. He further referred to the government’s policies on Indian languages, counter-terrorism and internal security. “We have demonstrated this to the entire world while addressing three long-standing issues—Article 370, Naxalism, and the situation in the Northeast—that had threatened the nation’s internal security for nearly five decades,” Shah said. The ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’, whose slogan is “Jan Seva Hi Prabhu Seva” (public service is service to God), will seek to promote public participation in the goal of making India a developed country by 2047, Shah said.