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What hasn’t happened in last 70 years, Modi has done in 10 years, says Indian-American Raj Shah
Dr Raj Shah and Narendra Modi grew up in close proximity in Gujarat, the former revealed in an interview with New India Abroad.
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Dr Raj Shah is the associate professor of Clinical Medicine at Drexel and Temple University faculties. / LinkedIn/Raj Shah
Dr Raj Shah, associate professor of Clinical Medicine at Drexel and Temple University faculties, said recently that Indian Prime Minister Modi has accomplished more in the last 10 years than what was done in the previous 70 years.
“Modi’s track record so far has been absolutely amazing. What has not happened in the last 70 years, he has done in the last 10 years,” said Shah, the president and CEO of SmartCareDoc. “So, I have no doubt that in the next 10 years, we will be making phenomenal progress in various areas.”
Dr Shah made the remarks while interacting with New India Abroad in Piscataway, New Jersey.
When asked about what Modi should prioritize in the first 100 days after being elected for a third term, Shah said, "The first 100 days should focus on eliminating legal inequalities, addressing issues that have been detrimental to everyone, and ensuring equal opportunities for all.”
Shah said he expects significant progress in creating jobs, lifting people out of poverty, and continued development in building infrastructure. He also expects improvements in education and opportunities for all Indian citizens under Modi’s leadership.
Shah also suggests that reservation quotas have served their purpose and should now be eliminated to ensure merit-based opportunities. “Let's get the people who are deserving to make it easy to have access to the opportunities in education, health care, and employment. Those are the three areas where I would like Modiji to concentrate, and I think he's already doing an amazing job,” he said.
Shah also called for the elimination of laws that favor specific groups to gain votes, advocating for laws that benefit the majority, especially Hindus. “We cannot have separate laws for Hindus and separate laws for Muslims. That must go. We should have a uniform system of law that should prevail,” he shared.
Shah and Modi grew up in close proximity in Gujarat
Dr Shah mentioned that he shared a personal connection with Modi, mentioning the proximity of their hometowns in Gujarat and past interactions. “I'm very, very positive because I have a special, I can say connection, because my hometown is Mehsana which is only 20 miles from Vadnagar. And I know Modiji as a school boy used to visit Mehsana because it was the headquarters of RSS for north Gujarat.”
“I know he has also visited my school many times because we had a Kamalabad community hall named after my mother where many of the functions have taken place, when he was chief minister of Gujarat,” Shah recalled.
Shah appreciated the way Modi understands people’s problems.
“He (Modi) knows what poverty is. He knows what it is to be without food. He knows what it is to be without shelter. And I think that's what, when you have that personal experience, you know the pain of those people. And that's why he has focused on and delivered. He pulled out 25 crore people from poverty,” Shah said.
Shah mentioned that Modi had a very challenging childhood, growing up in poverty. His mother worked as a housemaid, washing utensils for neighbors, while his father ran a tea stall.
Shah recounted a heartwarming story shared by his own father, describing how Modi's father's tea stall faced trouble with the railway authorities, who wanted to remove it. Kanti Modi, a neighbor, asked Shah's father for help, and he assisted in resolving the issue, allowing Modi's father to retain the stall.
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