Work does the talking, not the individual behind it. That was the line BJP leader Rajesh Yadav returned to as chief guest at the Inspiring Global Icon Awards – Season 2, held at the Constitution Club of India in Delhi on June 28.

Yadav, vice president of the BJP's Uttar Pradesh unit, cast Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as the architects of a modern India. For seventy years, he said, the country had no dedicated residence for its prime minister — now one stands built, alongside the new Central Vista. Too much, in his telling, had simply been run on what the British left behind.

He turned to roads to make his point. Yadav recalled a time when single-lane highways were the norm and newspapers routinely carried headlines about bus collisions that killed scores. The shift to four-lane and six-lane corridors, he credited to Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nitin Gadkari, calling it a change the audience had witnessed for themselves.

The mood in the country has changed under Modi, Yadav told the gathering of achievers. He said India was moving at bullet-train speed, with young people accessing loans through the Mudra scheme to start out on their own. He drew a sharp contrast for farmers: buying a tractor once meant borrowing at 13 percent while a car loan sat at 4 percent — an imbalance he said Modi had corrected, leaving the farmer stronger for it.

Organised by MS Global Entertainment, the evening honoured people who have built a name across a broad range of fields. Winners were recognised for knowledge, talent, leadership, innovation and service to society, with categories spanning education, health, business, industry, media, art and culture, social service, women's empowerment, science and technology, corporate leadership, sports, and the startup and entrepreneurship space.

Yadav shared the guest list with Anuj Sharma, a former national vice president of the BJP Yuva Morcha. Both presented the honours, praised the winners and wished them well for what lies ahead.

For the organisers, the recognition carried more weight than a trophy — a nod to struggle, dedication and honesty as much as achievement. They described the stage as a meeting point for experts, industrialists, educators, social workers, officials and public representatives, noting that one person's success can spark inspiration for millions.

The awards were founded by Sushil Pal and his wife Mamta Garg. Pal also serves as founder and editor of a digital news channel run out of Rajasthan under MTTV India.