PM Modi Praises Amit Shah as Longest-Serving Home Minister: “Aage Jaana Hai”

“Aage Jaana Hai”: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday congratulated Amit Shah on becoming the longest-serving home minister of the country and said it was “just the beginning” and BJP is wondering what he meant by it.

Shah’s record coincided with the sixth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, a move initiated by him months after he took over the ministry.

At an NDA parliamentary meeting where he was felicitated for Operation Sindoor, Modi praised Shah and congratulated him on the record. “Today, I want to congratulate Amit Shahji for becoming the country’s longest-serving home minister. Earlier, our Advaniji held that record and now he (Shah) has surpassed it,” Modi was learnt to have told the closed-door meeting.

While Advani was home minister from March 1998 to May 2004, the longest serving home minister, Shah who was appointed in May 2019 has surpassed his tenure.

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“With 2,258 days in office, he has now surpassed Lal Krishna Advani’s tenure of 2,256 days as Home Minister. Before them, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first Home Minister, served for 1,218 days. Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s tenure has been marked by bold, historic decisions - from the abrogation of Article 370 to a firm crackdown on terrorism and strengthening of internal security,” the BJP said in a post on X.

A senior BJP leader said on condition of anonymity that the PM’s statement can be seen as a endorsement of their bond and also a clarity in party hierarchy. “There is a section of people who have been speculating about some issues including the hierarchy …but the PM’s statement seems to have put that perception to rest,” the leader said.

The remark soon became a hushed topic of discussion among BJP MPs in Parliament corridors as the Sangh Parivar is debating Modi’s successor.

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RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had last month said leaders should step aside gracefully after a certain age to make way for the new generation and that has put the spotlight on the BJP’s unwritten retirement age of 75 enforced by Modi-Shah to sideline many party veterans.

Modi’s statement comes at a time when RSS is trying to free the party organisation from the Modi-Shah’s grip. RSS wants a strong leader and not a “rubber stamp” as the next BJP president and that has led to a stalemate.

“Modiji did appear to indicate that Amit bhai has a long way to go since he is just 60 now. It could be a message to the party MPs that Amit bhai deserves to be his (Modi’s) successor,” a BJP MP said. Some others felt on the word “we” and said it would be wrong to interpret it as meant for Shah.

“The Prime Minister said ‘this is just the beginning and we have a long way to go’. Clearly, it was a collective message for the party and not an individual leader,” another BJP MP said.

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