VARANASI, Sept. 18 -- Defence minister Rajnath Singh and chief minister Yogi Adityanath led a galaxy of leaders in kickstarting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday celebrations across Uttar Pradesh from Modi's parliamentary constituency Varanasi on Thursday.

The defence minister and the chief minister flagged off the 'Seva Sankalp Bike Yatra,' from Varanasi, the prime minister's 'karmabhoomi' (field of duty) to his 'janmabhoomi' (birthplace) Vadnagar, and launched the month-long Seva Sankalp Abhiyan, which commemorates Modi's 25 years in public life.

Speaking on the occasion, Rajnath Singh said India's economy was among the "Fragile Five" when Modi had assumed office as PM in 2014 but was now among the "Fabulous Five" economies of t...