Why this August 5 is a big day for Amit Shah

BJP leader Amit Shah became India's longest-serving Home Minister on August 5.

Transcript

00:00Why doesn't Rajasthan have a government? Why doesn't Gujarat have a government?

00:04Gujarat is also on the border of Pakistan.

00:06This was one of the most dramatic moments in recent Indian political history.

00:10On August 5, 2019, Amit Shah, newly appointed Home Minister,

00:13stood up in Parliament and moved to scrap Article 370.

00:16The resolution passed in both houses of Parliament

00:23and effectively applied the Indian Constitution in full to Jammu and Kashmir without exception.

00:28The move aligned with the long-standing BJP position, shaped by figures like Syama Prasad Mukherjee and LK Advani.

00:33Today, five years after that Article 370 announcement, Amit Shah has completed 2,258 days as Union Home Minister,

00:39becoming the longest-serving person to hold that post since independence.

00:43Amit Shah, 2,258 days, LK Advani, 2,256 days, Govind Ballappanth, 2,246 days and P. Chitambaram, 1,460 days.

00:54During his tenure, incidents of Naksal-related violence have decreased.

00:57Between 2019 and 2024, deaths dropped to under 600, compared to over 5,200 in the five years before that.

01:03Shah also oversaw the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019,

01:07the criminalization of Triple Talaq and the start of Uniform Civil Court consultations.

01:11In 2023, the Home Ministry introduced three new laws replacing the Indian Penal Court, Criminal Procedure Court and Evidence Act.

01:17These came into effect in July 2024.

01:20Shah's tenure also includes ongoing challenges.

01:22Ethnic violence in Manipur, which began in May 2023, remains unresolved despite repeated interventions.

01:27With over six years in office, Shah has now overtaken his predecessor and mentor LK Advani and time served.

01:33His tenure continues into the NDA's third term.