Press | Jun 20, 2026
Bharatiya Janata Party
(Central Office)
6A, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg,New Delhi
20thJune 2026, Saturday
SalientPoints of Union Home Minister & Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah’sAddress at the Massive Public Gathering in Ichalkaranji, Maharashtra
* From space to cooperatives andfrom farmers to startups, Modi Ji's 12 years have ushered in new achievementsin every sphere.
* These 12 years of Modi Ji are onlythe beginning; the BJP and NDA alone will fulfill the resolve of a ViksitBharat.
* Congress waived farm loans worth₹60,000 crore in 10 years, while Modi Ji transferred ₹4.28 lakh crore directlyinto farmers' bank accounts in 12 years.
* Abrogation of Article 370,construction of the Ram Temple, the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, Mahakal Lok, andthe rejuvenation of Somnath — Modi Ji has completed one after another the tasksthat had remained pending for decades.
* Modi Ji has studded India withinfrastructural marvels by building the Sela Tunnel at 13,000 feet, the AtalTunnel at 10,000 feet, Atal Setu Mumbai, the Ganga Expressway, the BulletTrain, and the Vadhavan Port
* Sugarcane farmers had beendemanding relief since 2016; Modi Ji revitalized the sugar cooperative sectorby granting tax relief worth ₹46,000 crore in a single decision.
* New cooperative industrialprojects in Maharashtra are set to integrate sugar mills with the value-addedeconomy.
* When sugar mills faced severechallenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, Modi Ji protected the cooperativesector by providing ₹10,000 crore through NCDC exclusively to mills inMaharashtra.
Union Home Minister & Ministerof Cooperation Shri Amit Shah, while addressing a massive public gathering inIchalkaranji, Maharashtra, on Saturday, stated that the twelve-year tenure ofHon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji would be recorded as a goldenchapter in India’s democratic history. Modi Government has taken decisive stepsagainst terrorism through measures such as surgical strikes, air strikes, andOperation Sindoor, modernized the armed forces, abrogated Article 370, andaccomplished major initiatives including the construction of the Ram Mandir,the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, Mahakal Lok, and several large-scaleinfrastructure projects. Shri Shah also highlighted major decisions taken bythe government in the fields of cooperation, farmer welfare, sugar mills, andthe strengthening of Maharashtra’s cooperative industry. Union Home Ministeraccused the Congress Party of neglecting farmers and the cooperative sector andasserted that BJP alone would fulfil the vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047. Theevent was attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis, DeputyChief Minister Shri Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra BJP State President ShriRavindra Chavan, Cabinet Ministers Shri Chandrakant Dada Patil, Shri AshishShelar, and Shri Hasan Mushrif, along with several other senior leaders.
Shri Amit Shah stated that a majorevent in the democratic history of India has taken place recently. Hon’blePrime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji has surpassed the record for the longesttenure as Prime Minister of the country. In the history of democraticallyelected Prime Ministers, Shri Narendra Modi ji has set a new record by servingfor more than twelve years, the longest tenure held by any Prime Minister.Whenever the history of independent India is written, the past twelve yearswill be remembered for several landmark developments and historic achievements.Twelve years ago, India had a government during whose tenure the countrywitnessed repeated bomb blasts and terrorist attacks, yet the then PrimeMinister remained silent and did not utter a word. In 2014, Hon’ble PrimeMinister Shri Narendra Modi ji assumed office and a BJP government was formed.Subsequently, there were terrorist attacks in Uri, Pulwama, and Pahalgam. Inresponse, India carried out surgical strikes, air strikes, and ultimately launchedOperation Sindoor, taking decisive action against terrorism by striking insidePakistan. India demonstrated before the entire world its Himalayan Pledge toprotect its citizens and safeguard its borders.
The Union Home Minister noted thatit was during the tenure of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji thatIndia’s armed forces underwent significant modernization. There was a time whenthe country was unable to manufacture even a single bullet, but today Indiastands before the world as an Atmanirbhar Bharat, producing advanced missilesand defence equipment. It was under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime MinisterShri Narendra Modi ji that India’s security agencies established completedominance over terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, peace was restored in theNorth-East, and the five-decade-old challenge of Naxalism has gradually becomea thing of the past, making the country virtually free from Naxal violence.Peace has been established from Ladakh to Lakshadweep and from the North-Eastto Punjab. A new era of innovation and research has emerged, spanning fromagriculture to science. Efforts have been made to expand opportunities rangingfrom Self-Help Groups and women’s committees in villages to start-ups. ShriNarendra Modi ji is the only Prime Minister who has focused equally onstrengthening the cooperative sector and achieving milestones in spaceexploration. Through the cooperative movement, he addressed the concerns offarmers and livestock rearers, while in the field of space, where India hadonce lagged behind, Chandrayaan reached the Moon’s south pole during histenure.
Shri Shah asserted that it was underthe leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji that Article370, which had remained a long-pending and contentious issue for decades, wasabrogated. The construction of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya, was also accomplished. The Kashi VishwanathCorridor, which had been destroyed by Aurangzeb, was rebuilt; the Mahakal LokCorridor project was developed; and efforts have also been undertaken to adornthe Somnath Temple in gold. Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi jiestablished India’s position on the global platform making the world listen toIndia. Today, in the field of infrastructure, engineering marvels such as theSela Tunnel at an altitude of 13,000 feet, the Atal Tunnel at 10,000 feet, theAtal Setu in Mumbai, the country’s longest sea bridge and the Bhupen HazarikaSetu over the Lohit River in Assam stand as remarkable achievements. Under theleadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, majorinfrastructure projects such as the 594-kilometre-long Ganga Expressway inUttar Pradesh, the 700-kilometre-long Bundelkhand and Purvanchal Expressways,the Mumbai Coastal Road, the Bullet Train project, Greenfield Airports, and thedevelopment of the Vadhvan Port, one of the largest ports in the country, havebeen undertaken and advanced.
The senior BJP leader mentioned thatwithout the sugar mills of Kolhapur and Western Maharashtra, the entire countrywould not be able to enjoy sugar as it does today. Hon’ble Prime Minister ShriNarendra Modi ji has undertaken numerous initiatives for cooperative sugarmills during his tenure, and that Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri DevendraFadnavis had extended full support to these efforts. However, he questioned whatthe Congress Party had done for the sector and asked what contribution had beenmade by those leaders from the region who had long been associated with thecooperative movement. The Congress Party would have to answer these questions.Shri Shah further stated that since 2016, sugarcane farmers across the countryhad been demanding that the profits earned by sugarcane and sugar factoriesshould not be subjected to taxation. No previous government had acted on thisdemand, but Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, in a single decision,waived income tax liabilities amounting to ₹46,000 crore, thereby giving a newlease of life to sugar mills. When sugar mills across the country were facingsevere financial difficulties in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic,Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji took a decisive step andfacilitated loans exceeding ₹10,000 crore exclusively for Maharashtra’s sugarmills through the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
Shri Amit Shah stated that amongMaharashtra’s cooperative sugar mills, there are several that are not in aposition to produce Compressed Biogas, or undertake advanced chemicalprocessing to manufacture products such as citric acid. Keeping this challengein mind, the Government of India has decided to establish a cooperativeprocessing plant in Kolhapur district of Western Maharashtra at a cost of₹1,500 crore. The facility will manufacture all these value-added products onbehalf of cooperative sugar mills and channel the resulting profits back to thesugar mills themselves. As soon as his proposal reached Chief Minister ShriDevendra Fadnavis, approval was granted through a single phone call. As aresult, the plant is scheduled to be established in Kolhapur within the nextthree months. Similarly, the National Heavy Engineering Cooperative in Punewill also be revived through an investment of ₹1,500 crore. This facility willsupply equipment and services to sugar mills across India and around the world.It will manufacture dairy-processing plants, and facilities forproducing citric acid and CBG gas from cattle dung or molasses. Shri Shahemphasized that the entire profit generated from the manufacture of theseplants and facilities will also be redirected back to Maharashtra’s sugarmills. Both of these projects are expected to provide tremendous strength toMaharashtra’s cooperative industry in the years to come and significantlyenhance the capabilities and sustainability of the cooperative sector.
The Union Home Minister noted thatthe Congress Party had never genuinely cared about farmers. Referring tostatements often made by Rahul Gandhi, Shri Shah remarked that even today RahulGandhi claims, “We waived farmers’ loans.” Shri Shah challenged Rahul Gandhi totell the farmers of the country exactly how much farm debt was waived duringthe Congress-led government’s tenure. Congress government waived loans worth₹60,000 crore over a period of ten years, whereas under the leadership ofHon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, a total of ₹4,28,000 crore hasbeen directly transferred into the bank accounts of farmers through 22installments over the past twelve years. Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri NarendraModi ji deposits ₹6,000 annually into the accounts of farmers, irrespective ofwhether they have taken a loan or not. By establishing the Ministry ofCooperation and giving renewed impetus to the dairy sector, Hon’ble PrimeMinister Shri Narendra Modi ji has once again firmly reinforced the role of thecooperative movement in India’s rural development. BJP’s message to the peopleis simple: they should elect governments that genuinely care for them andcontinue working tirelessly for their development throughout their five-yearterm. Referring to Ichalkaranji, he noted that the people of the region havegiven opportunities to the NDA at every level, whether in the LegislativeAssembly, Parliament, or local corporations. Therefore, the people ofIchalkaranji have a rightful claim on both the Maharashtra Government and theGovernment of India.
Shri Shah asserted that the twelve years ofthe Modi Government is only the beginning, and that BJP and NDA will continueto govern for many years to come. The vision put forward by Hon’ble PrimeMinister Shri Narendra Modi ji of transforming India into a fully developednation by 2047 will be realized only by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Shri Shahfurther noted that Shri Dada Awhad has set a strong example before the entirenation through his long-standing service to the cooperative sector, andtherefore deserves the highest respect and gratitude.He assured the gatheringthat when Dada completes 100 years of age, he would certainly be present toparticipate in the celebrations. Shri Shah once again expressed his heartfeltgratitude to the people of Ichalkaranji. Although the event was intended to bea relatively small programme marking the fresh beginning of a cooperativefactory in Dada’s name, an exceptionally large number of people had attended,demonstrating their affection, enthusiasm, and commitment to the cooperativemovement.
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