Acharya Balkrishna, co-founder of Patanjali Yogpeeth, came out in full praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The occasion was Modi crossing 4,399 consecutive days in office. Balkrishna called the moment historic and said he felt deeply pleased seeing a leader carry Indian culture and national pride to the world stage.
He described Modi’s governance as rooted in the spirit of “Rashtra Devo Bhava” and wished him long life and continued service to the nation.
The record
Modi’s 4,399 days in office put him past Jawaharlal Nehru’s mark of 4,398 consecutive days, set after India’s first general election. Nehru’s pre-1952 tenure as head of an interim government is not counted in this comparison. Modi’s entire run spans three back-to-back electoral wins in 2014, 2019, and 2024.
The NDA marked the occasion with a conclave at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. Chief ministers and deputy chief ministers from NDA-ruled states were present, along with senior party leaders.
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Article 370
Balkrishna pointed to the revocation of Article 370 as one of Modi’s biggest moves. In August 2019, the central government removed Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and split the region into two Union Territories. The provision had been in place since 1949.
Ram Temple
For Balkrishna, whose life and work draw from Sanatan tradition, the Ram Temple in Ayodhya carried personal weight. The temple came up after a legal dispute that ran for over seven decades. Modi performed the consecration in January 2024.
Welfare and digital push
Swachh Bharat brought toilets and sanitation infrastructure to rural and urban households across India. Ayushman Bharat gave health insurance cover to families at the bottom of the income ladder.
UPI transactions, now in billions per month, trace back to the Digital India push that began in 2015. Government services moved online. Jan Dhan accounts brought banking to people who had never held a bank account.
Education reform
The National Education Policy of 2020 replaced a framework that had been largely unchanged since 1986. It brought in mother-tongue teaching in early grades, opened pathways for vocational training, and gave students more flexibility in subject choices at the higher education level.
Reactions
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar called the milestone a measure of the public’s trust in Modi’s leadership. Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the 4,399 days represented real reform, touching farmers, women, MSMEs, and the middle class.
From outside India, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim praised Modi’s role in raising India’s global position. Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape pointed to poverty reduction as Modi’s most visible achievement, saying over 200 million people had moved out of poverty during his tenure. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor called it a testament to decades of public service.