Not a single stain on his kurta’: Amit Shah’s praise for PM Modi

At Modi’s birthplace, Shah says the Prime Minister has consistently secured public mandates for over 25 years.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 76 Thursday, Union Minister for Home and Cooperation Amit Shah said Modi has lived a clean and corruption-free life, “like a lotus in the middle of a swamp, completely untouched by the water or the mud”.

Shah made the remarks while addressing a public gathering in Vadnagar in North Gujarat’s Mehsana district, where Modi was born on September 17, 1950.

“Since the time the country gained Independence until today, no politician has set a record of serving for 25 years as both the head of a state and the head of the country. Modi Ji is the only leader who has accomplished this by continuously securing the public mandate for 25 years, winning every election, and receiving the blessings of the people. This is a very significant achievement. And the BJP and its NDA allies have decided to take this occasion to the people across the country,” Shah said.

“Some people who are cynical have asked, ‘What is the need for this?’ Today, I want to tell them: Modi Ji’s life is such that it is essential to introduce it to every child, every adolescent, and every youth in India so that in the coming days, hundreds of Narendra Modis emerge from it and elevate India to its rightful place,” he said.

“To fulfil the vision, we have set for a fully developed India by 2047, we need many such youth, many such adolescents, and many such children who, for the next three generations, advance their lives on Narendra Modi’s path and successfully champion the mantra of India First,” he added.

गुजरात के वडनगर में #SevaSankalpAbhiyan के तहत ‘एक भारत, श्रेष्ठ भारत’ का संदेश देने वाली ‘वडनगर से वाराणसी’ बाइक रैली के फ्लैग-ऑफ कार्यक्रम से लाइव… https://t.co/gXBQiUli8c

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) September 17, 2026

The Union home minister also referred to his close association with the PM since his early days in politics. Shah said no one matches his simplicity.

“Even today, after 25 years in power, hardly anyone in the country can name five of his family members; it is rare that the nation will ever see such a politician in the future. This is a massive achievement. In his 25 years of public life, not a single stain mars his kurta. Even his opponents cannot accuse Modi Ji of corruption. Remaining like a lotus in the middle of a swamp, completely untouched by the water or the mud, he has lived a clean, corruption-free life.”

“As I said, no one knows his family; that statement is, in a way, incomplete. The entire country knows Modi Ji’s family because Modi Ji considers India itself his family. He considers the 1.4 billion citizens his family,” Shah added.

‘Victory after victory’

Talking about Modi’s humble background, the Union home minister also said Modi “shines like a pole star in the sky of national and global politics on his own merit”.

Shah also spoke in detail about various initiatives Modi took first as Gujarat chief minister and then as PM. He said Modi was elected the Prime Minister in 2014 based on his performance as the Gujarat CM.

“In 25 years under his leadership, without losing any election, there has been victory after victory. To cynics who claim that the public is not with him (Modi), I want to tell them that the biggest indicator of public support is the mandate itself. And Narendra Modi Ji has always secured the public mandate. Recently, their last remaining bastion in Bengal was also dismantled, where a full-majority government of the BJP was formed.”

“Today, under his leadership, the NDA governs in 22 states, has 318 Members of Parliament in Lok Sabha, 152 Members of Parliament in Rajya Sabha, more than 2,500 MLAs, over 250 Members of Legislative Councils, and based on the trust bestowed by the public, the BJP and our NDA allies are governing over 72 per cent of the country’s land area and 76 per cent of its population.”

Shah also flagged off a bike rally, Seva Sankalp Yatra, from Vadnagar to Varanasi to mark PM Modi’s birthday on September 17 and October 7, the day he became the Gujarat CM in 2001.

A simultaneous rally was flagged off from Varanasi, PM’s Lok Sabha constituency.

According to the BJP, the two rallies will together cover about 40,000 km through 193 districts and around 1,159 villages across 10 states. Around 1,000 youths will participate, it said.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat Deputy CM Harsh Sanghavi, Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, Union Minister Anupriya Patel, and several other leaders attended the event.