Gandhinagar: Chief minister Bhupendra Patel on Friday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on completing 25 years in public service, describing his journey from taking charge of Gujarat’s administration in 2001 to leading the country as one marked by the principles of “service over power” and “nation first”.Addressing a news conference in Gandhinagar alongside deputy chief minister Harsh Sanghavi and cabinet minister Jitu Vaghani, Patel said Modi had ushered in a new chapter of development-oriented politics and “politics of performance” through his mantra of “reform, perform and transform”.Patel said Modi’s tenure as Gujarat chief minister was marked by schemes and projects like Jyotigram Yojana, Narmada canal network and infrastructure expansion, Vibrant Gujarat Global Investment Summit, among others.He said that after Modi became PM, several projects launched during his tenure as Gujarat CM were replicated across the country. He cited schemes like PM-Kisan, Ujjwala scheme, Ayushman Bharat, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Jyoti Gram Yojana, Swachh Bharat Mission and Khelo India as some examples.Highlighting ongoing infrastructure and industrial projects in Gujarat, Patel referred to rail and expressway projects connecting Ahmedabad and Dholera, Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, the railway locomotive manufacturing unit in Dahod, aircraft manufacturing in Vadodara and financial services infrastructure at GIFT City.He also cited the renewable energy park at Khavda, the proposed CNG terminal in Bhavnagar and semiconductor investments, saying six semiconductor projects under the national mission were helping Gujarat move towards becoming a semiconductor hub.
