Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership had significantly enhanced India’s global reputation, diplomatic influence and international standing.
Addressing the ‘Viksit Bharat Sankalp Conference’ here along with BJP national general secretary and former Rajya Sabha member Dushyant Kumar Gautam, Thakur described Modi’s tenure as a historic period that would be remembered as a “golden era” in India’s development journey.
He said Modi had transformed the nature of Indian politics by focusing on fulfilling commitments and delivering welfare-oriented governance. Highlighting initiatives such as Atmanirbhar Bharat, Digital India, Make in India and Startup India, Thakur said these programmes had accelerated economic growth and strengthened infrastructure across the country.
He said welfare schemes targeted at the poor, women, farmers, youth and marginalised sections had positively impacted millions of lives. Recalling the political transition of 2014, Thakur said people had voted for decisive leadership after becoming disillusioned with corruption and policy paralysis under the previous Congress-led government.
Turning to state politics, he claimed that the BJP’s performance in the recent panchayat elections reflected growing public support for the party. He expressed confidence that the BJP would return to power with a strong mandate in the 2027 Assembly elections and said a “double-engine government” would accelerate Himachal’s development, which he alleged had suffered under the present Congress regime.
