‘My gratitude to people of India’: PM Narendra Modi recalls his 2001 Gujarat CM oath in nostalgic post on X

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on October 7, recalled the moment when he took the oath of office as the Chief Minister of Gujarat for the first time, twenty-five years ago in 2001.

PM Narendra Modi, in a series of posts on X, expressed gratitude to the people of the nation as he marked 25 years of service to the country.

“On this day in 2001, I took oath as Gujarat’s chief minister for the first time. Thanks to the continuous blessings of my fellow Indians, I am entering my 25th year of serving as the head of a Government,” PM Modi said in the post accompanied by pictures.

Born as Narendra Damodardas Modi on 17 September 1950 in the nondescript Mehsana town of Gujarat, he served as the state's CM for three consecutive terms (2001-14) and is now the Prime Minister for the third time since 2014.

“My gratitude to the people of India. Through all these years, it has been my constant endeavour to improve the lives of our people and contribute to the progress of this great nation that has nurtured us all,” the prime minister said.

PM Modi said it was in very testing circumstances when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) entrusted him with the responsibility of being Gujarat CM way back in 2001. “The state was suffering due to a massive earthquake in the same year. The preceding years had witnessed a super cyclone, successive droughts and political instability. Those challenges strengthened the resolve to serve people and rebuild Gujarat with renewed vigour and hope,” he said.

PM Modi also recalled his mother's advice after becoming Gujarat Chief Minister. “When I took oath as Chief Minister, I remember my Mother telling me - I do not have much understanding of your work but I only seek two things. First, you will always work for the poor and second, you will never take a bribe. I also told people that whatever I do will be with the best intent and will be inspired by a vision to serve the very last person in the queue,” he said.