Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Praises Union Home Minister Amit Shah

Maharashtra Leadership Praise

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has strongly praised Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his firm commitment to national security and decisive leadership. Writing about national security challenges, Mr. Shinde pointed out that certain foreign powers and anti-national elements are attempting to create instability in India. He stated that these elements talk of a regime change similar to protests in Nepal and Bangladesh, while drug trafficking and misinformation on social media threaten the country.

Security and Policy Decisions

Mr. Shinde credited the Union Home Ministry under Mr. Shah with shifting India from a reactive security stance to swift, direct, and comprehensive decision-making. Key actions highlighted include the August 5, 2019 revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and firm measures against Naxalite activities. The article notes that between 2014 and 2025, over 10 million kilograms of drugs worth more than 1.65 lakh crore rupees were seized, and more than 761,000 drug traffickers were arrested, compared to 173,000 arrests between 2004 and 2014. Mr. Shah also helped Parliament enact new criminal laws like the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita to replace colonial-era frameworks.

Political Journey and Cooperative Sector

Tracing his political rise, the piece notes that Mr. Shah joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as a volunteer at age 16 and rose from a booth worker to become a key strategist for the Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2021, he became India's first Minister of Cooperation, where he has worked to curb irregularities and modernize the cooperative sector. Mr. Shinde also noted his personal interactions with Mr. Shah, highlighting his admiration for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his support for the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra.

Context

Union Home Ministers in India oversee internal security, law enforcement agencies, central paramilitary forces, and Centre-state security coordination. The Ministry of Cooperation, created in July 2021, was established to provide a separate administrative legal and policy framework to strengthen the cooperative movement across the country. Such political commentaries in newspapers often reflect alliances and strategic alignments between leaders of ruling coalitions at national and state levels.