Gurugram, Oct 7: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed 25 years at the helm of government, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday described October 7 as a ‘golden and epoch-making day in the history of Indian democracy.

HM Shah said that a person born into a poor family had, through his abilities and by taking crores of people along with him, created a record of serving as Chief Minister and Prime Minister for 25 consecutive years.

HM Shah attended the ‘Viksit Bharat Sankalp Sabha – Seva Jyoti Yatra’ organised in Gurugram under the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan to mark the completion of 25 years of PM Modi’s public service.

Addressing the gathering, HM Shah said, “October 7 marks a golden and epoch-making day in the history of Indian democracy. Today, a person born into a poor family has, through his abilities and by taking crores of people along, set a record of serving as Chief Minister and Prime Minister for 25 consecutive years. That person is our beloved leader, Narendra Modi.”

“Whenever the history of India is written, these 25 years will be written in golden letters. These 25 years have seen freedom from poverty, a secure India, the abrogation of Article 370, the end of Naxalism, the construction of the Ram Janmabhoomi and Kashi Vishwanath temples, infrastructure being taken to unprecedented levels, and 25 crore poor people being lifted above the poverty line,” he said.

HM Shah also spoke about the ‘Seva Jyoti Yatra’, saying that young people would carry a torch for around 800 metres and install it at a designated crossing.

“We have just heard Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and now, 800 metres from here, young people will take out a ‘Seva Jyoti Yatra’ and install the torch at the designated crossing. I will light the torch in your presence with CM Nayab Singh Saini and flag off the youth for the ‘Seva Jyoti Yatra’. I urge all of you to join the yatra in as large numbers as possible,” he said.

“These 25 years are about the welfare of citizens; it is 25 years of the country’s pride. On this day, I pray to God to grant PM Modi a long and healthy life and allow him to lead the country for many more years,” the Home Minister said.

New Delhi, Oct 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday compared the situation of the country before he became the Prime Minister in 2014, which he described as “immersed in despair and disappointment”, with the current situation of the country under the BJP-led NDA government.

Taking a stinging jibe at the previous governments, PM Modi said that “formidable challenges” stood before the nation; however, now, he said that the “picture has changed completely”. He said the nation has witnessed a transformation from “policy paralysis” to “reform express”.

Addressing the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Sabha in New Delhi, PM Modi said, “In 2014, the country expanded my responsibilities and broadened the scope of my service as the Prime Servant. Even then, formidable challenges stood before the country. Problems seemed to be everywhere, and every citizen was looking for a new path. Regarding India’s economy, the world had started saying, ‘It’s a gone case’. There was no growth to be seen anywhere, inflation was touching the sky, and a country immersed in despair and disappointment once again needed a new sense of confidence.”

He said that when he came to power in 2014, he did what he knew best. “I called upon the collective strength of crores of Indians and once again told them, ‘We will do it!'”

“And today, 12 years later, the picture has changed completely,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that when a crisis situation occurred during the previous government’s tenure, the Indian economy would be “shaken”. “Today, when a crisis occurs, India’s strength and resilience are discussed,” he said.

“Back then, there was talk of policy paralysis, and today there is talk of the reforms express. Earlier, ways were being found to increase imports, and today new export records are being set. Earlier, we imported even the mobile phones we needed, and today Made-in-India mobile phones are making their mark. Earlier, blackouts across India would become global headlines, and today India’s solar power capacity is being discussed,” he said.

Another “excellent example” of this story of change is agriculture, according to PM Modi. Since Independence, he said, if there has been a decade in which agricultural growth has remained consistently the highest, it is the current decade.

“The decade from 2015 to 2025 has broken all records for agricultural growth.”

The Prime Minister further asserted that even among the major countries known for agriculture, growth has not been this rapid. “This happens only when the intentions are clear, and the policies are clear.”

PM Modi said that ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ has been the “foundation of good governance” for him.

“One of the major tragedies of our country has been that society was divided along voting lines for political purposes. Just think, if water does not reach the fields, who suffers? Are only farmers of one caste affected by it? If electricity is not available, does darkness prevail only in the homes of one community? The answer to all these questions is no. If the problem affects everyone, the solution should also be for everyone,” he said.

He said that his government worked towards saturation — meaning that every beneficiary is covered, no eligible person is left out, no rightful beneficiary is left behind, and no one can deprive another person of their rightful benefits.

“This is saturation, and this is the real story of change,” he added.

Hyderabad, Oct 7: Election authorities in Telangana have intensified investigation into false Form-7 applications seeking deletion of voters from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), even as Hyderabad Police have booked a booth-level agent (BLA) of the BJP for allegedly submitting 30 pre-printed Form-7 applications.

S. Balachander, a Booth Level Agent (BLA) of the BJP in Musheerabad constituency in Hyderabad, has been booked for submitting pre-printed Form-7 applications seeking deletion of voters from the electoral roll at a polling station.

A case under Sections 217 and 318(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, has been registered against him at Chikkadpally Police Station.

This followed a complaint lodged by T. Praveen Kumar, Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of the Musheerabad Assembly constituency.

The ERO complained that Balachander brought 30 digitally pre-printed Form-7 applications to Polling Station No. 210 on September 28. The applications sought the deletion of the names of 30 electors, including a Congress BLA and his family members, from the electoral roll.

Balachander, who had signed the forms, tried to submit them to the Booth Level Officer (BLO) at the polling station. When the BLO refused to receive the bulk submission and did not issue any acknowledgement for the 30 forms, Balachander left the forms at the polling station premises before the BLO and left the place.

After the verification, election authorities found that all 30 electors whose names were mentioned in the Form-7 applications were residing at the respective premises recorded in the electoral records.

This was the first case filed in Telangana after Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharsan Reddy, on October 5, ordered action against applicants who knowingly made false statements of declaration in Forms 6, 6A, 7 & 8 under provisions of Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The CEO had asked DEOs to conduct an inquiry under Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, before taking the action.

Similar pre-printed forms had surfaced in the Bahadurpura and Goshamahal constituencies in Hyderabad. All the names mentioned in the forms were Muslims, leading to allegations about a deliberate attempt to target the community.

After Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) lodged a complaint, the CEO issued an order to the Commissioner of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, the District Election Officer, Hyderabad and all collectors and DEOs of districts across the state to “take appropriate action” against individuals found knowingly filing false claims or declarations in electoral-roll forms.

Election authorities across Telangana have received 28,753 Form-7 applications, including around 5,000 from Hyderabad.

TPCC electoral office had filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, seeking FIRs over alleged misuse of Form 7s.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Tuesday complained to the Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana, Sudharsan Reddy, regarding the misuse of Form 7 for the targeted deletion of Muslim voters in the Goshamahal Assembly constituency.

In a letter to the CEO, AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi complained that at polling station number 28, one Thudumu Janardhan submitted 122 Form 7 applications. In these forms, the names of the voters against whom deletion is sought are pre-printed, while the applicant has written his own name and contact number as the person filing the Form 7, he said.

Owaisi alleged that there is a deep conspiracy to delete Muslim voters through fraudulent and bulk submission of Form 7 applications.

The Claims and Objections phase of the SIR process will end on October 7, and the deadline for disposal is November 5. Final electoral rolls will be published on November 9, 2026.