AMRITSAR, October 7, 2026: Marking exactly 25 years since Prime Minister Narendra Modi first assumed executive office as Chief Minister of Gujarat on October 7, 2001, Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu led a large-scale ‘Seva Jyoti Yatra’ through Amritsar, rallying citizens around the vision of a developed India by 2047 while making a compelling pitch for political and economic renewal in Punjab.
Addressing attendees during the ceremonial march, Sandhu stated that a quarter-century of continuous democratic governance must be evaluated by its tangible impact on citizens’ daily lives and the resilience of national infrastructure.
“Prime Minister Modi’s governance philosophy has systematically integrated grassroots civic participation with national economic goals, giving rise to an enterprise-driven, forward-looking populace,” Sandhu maintained.
He also outlined the transformative scale of national progress over the past decade, pointing to data illustrating financial democracy and global competitiveness and noted the expansion of the formal banking sector via Jan Dhan accounts, which reached 59.09 crore beneficiaries by August 2026—over half of whom are women—and India’s rising footprint in international trade with $825.3 billion in total annual exports during 2024–25.
“Milestones like the Chandrayaan-3 south pole lunar landing demonstrates Indian innovation can compete at the highest global levels, generating pride and domestic manufacturing capability,” he said.
However, Sandhu cautioned that the benefits of national progress must be matched by structural reforms in states experiencing severe development bottlenecks, particularly Punjab.
Expressing deep concern over the state’s deteriorating financial indicators, he cited projections indicating that Punjab’s total outstanding public debt will escalate to nearly Rs 4.48 lakh crore by 2026–27. He argued that the state cannot achieve fiscal stability without diversifying its revenue streams, attracting private capital investment, and generating high-value domestic employment for its youth.
Elaborating on critical social challenges, the MP termed the drug crisis and ecological degradation—specifically rapidly depleting water tables—as existential threats to the state’s survival.
He called for an immediate overhaul of state policy to prioritize sustainable irrigation practices, crop diversification, and widespread healthcare interventions to rehabilitate addicted youth.
Calling upon voters to back the BJP in the upcoming state Assembly polls, Sandhu asserted that Punjab requires an accountable, result-oriented government capable of leveraging central schemes to revitalize farming communities and industrial corridors.
The ‘Seva Jyoti Yatra’ saw active participation from several regional leaders, including BJP Amritsar district chief Salil Kapoor, Gurpartap Singh Tikka, Dr. Ram Chawla, Sukhminder Singh Pintu, and Kumar Amit Valmiki.
