12 years in PMO: NDA to celebrate PM Modi overtaking Nehru

NEW DELHI: As NDA government turns 12 and PM Narendra Modi overtakes Jawaharlal Nehru’s feat of longest unbroken tenure as elected head of govt, leading members of the alliance will gather on Wednesday to mark the twin feats, an occasion turning more celebratory for them as rival INDIA bloc weakens amid implosion in TMC. Nearly 75 representatives of about 35 parties are expected to meet, with achievements of govt coupled with Modi’s own milestone likely to dominate proceedings and resolution, informed sources said. CMs of all the 22 NDA-governed states and UTs are expected to attend the meeting where the PM will also be present. The conclave will come days after 23 opposition met under the aegis of INDIA bloc, and the difference in mood and context of the twin gatherings of the country’s principal poles could not have been starker. Several heads of government on Tuesday congratulated Modi, with Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake saying the milestone is a testament to the “trust and confidence that people of the world’s largest democracy have repeatedly placed in his leadership”. Papua New Guinea’s PM James Marape and Trinidad and Tobago’s PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar lauded Modi as “a role model and an example of leadership” and said India has emerged as a “leading voice on global matters”. Despite global headwinds, India has remained the largest growing major economy, BJP president Nitin Nabin said, days after official data showed that it grew at an impressive 7.7% in the last fiscal. Amid clear signs of a split in TMC and rebel LS MPs veering to supporting government, NDA is now getting ready to undo the debacle a united opposition inflicted on it in Parliament’s last session by defeating its bid to amend the women’s reservation law, as its braintrust believes that numbers will sooner or later align favourably for the required two-third majority.