Learn from mistakes of parties that ruled India for long but in ‘terminal decline’ now: Modi to BJP cadre

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked BJP members to learn from mistakes of the parties which ruled India for long but are now in “terminal decline”, as he emphasised on qualities such as restraint, balanced outlook and coordination among them. In his speech at the final session of the BJP national executive, Modi […]

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked BJP members to learn from mistakes of the parties which ruled India for long but are now in “terminal decline”, as he emphasised on qualities such as restraint, balanced outlook and coordination among them.

In his speech at the final session of the BJP national executive, Modi called upon party workers to strive to make India “shreshtha” (great) and asserted that its goal should be “triptikaran” (fulfilment) from “tushtikaran” (appeasement), something it has accused opposition parties of. “This will lead to ‘sabka vikas’ (development of all). No one should be left behind,” he said.

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He called for taking out “Sneh Yatra” which, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a press conference, will be aimed at boosting affection and coordination in society by reaching out to different sections of people.

Modi called for “P2 to G2” (Pro-people to good governance) in the party’s political and governance model. Taking aim at the opposition, Modi said the country was fed up with dynastic politics and dynastic parties and added that it would be difficult for them to survive long.

Emphasising on the need for party workers to stay connected to people, he said they should not make fun of or jeer at the parties which are in terminal decline and instead learn from their mistakes.

Recalling that he had noted in a 2016 party meet about BJP workers having qualities of “Sevabhaav, Santulan, Sanyam, Samnway, Sakaratmak, Sadbhavana and Samvad (Service, balance, restraint, coordination, positivity, empathy and dialogue), Modi reiterated this message to BJP members in the Sunday address.

The two-day executive meeting saw the party taking stock of its organisational activities and lauding the Modi government over its economic policies and overall governance.

Issues such as the killing of a tailor in Udaipur by Islamic fanatics and the Nupur Sharma row were not discussed in the meeting, though the obituary reference did mention tailor Kanhaiya Lal, party leaders said.

Referring to Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar, a name with roots in the city’s Hindu cultural heritage, Modi said Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel laid the foundation of “Ek Bharat” (United India) by integrating the region into the Union and it is the BJP’s historical obligation to build ‘Shreshtha Bharat’.

Everything that is good in the country belongs to every Indian, he said, asserting that the BJP believes in this philosophy and that is why it celebrates leaders like Patel, who was a Congress stalwart, and paid tributes to every prime minister through a museum dedicated to all previous PMs.

The prime minister also hit back at opposition parties for questioning the BJP’s democratic credentials and asked what is the status of democracy within their organisations.

Modi asserted that his government has worked for everyone and noted that nearly 200 crore Covid vaccines doses were given to people for free across the country. India’s exports have surged and the country has received record FDI, he said.

Noting the efforts of BJP governments at the Centre and in states to empower women, he said they have repeatedly expressed support for the party in elections and it should continue to work for their welfare.

In his speech, Modi also referred to the BJP-led NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu and lauded her journey from humble background and asked party MPs and MLAs to ensure that they cast valid votes as even a small error may render them invalid.

Prasad asserted that numbers are heavily stacked in Murmu’s favour against Yashwant Sinha, the opposition candidate.