Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Feb 18: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asserted that not only the people in the country have made up their minds to give a third term to his government, many foreign countries were also convinced that the BJP was set to win the coming elections to the Lok Sabha.
Addressing the BJP National Council on the second day of the two-day meeting being held at the iconic Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, Mr Modi said even ahead of the elections he had started getting invitations for July, August or September. “What does this imply? It means that various nations around the world are entirely confident about the return of the BJP government. They also know – aayega toh Modi hi.”
He reasserted that his party BJP would return to power in general elections, a win that would ensure a comfortable third term for him. He said he was not seeking a third term to enjoy power, but to work for the nation. “If I had thought of my home, it would not have been possible to build homes for crores of people,” he said.
He reiterated his resolve of bringing the BJP back to power with even “stronger numbers” and exhorted the party workers to work towards making India a developed country. “The next five years are going to be crucial. We have to take a big leap towards ‘Viksit Bharat’. The first imperative is to ensure the return of the BJP to power in strong numbers,” the prime minister told the BJP cadre.
He asked the BJP workers to work with renewed vigour and confidence for the next 100 days to reach out to new voters and win their confidence to ensure the party’s return to power in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. “The next 100 days are very crucial. In the next 100 days, you need to connect with every new voter, reach every beneficiary, every section, every community, and every person who believes in every religion. We need to gain the trust of everyone,” Mr Modi said.
Underlining his government’s ten years, he said, “In the last 10 years, India has achieved unprecedented momentum and gained the courage to achieve significant goals. India has reached new heights in every sector today, connecting every citizen with a sense of great determination. And this determination is – a developed India. We must make India developed, and in this, the next 5 years will play a significant role. In the next 5 years, India must work at a much faster pace than before.”
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coalition won more than 350 seats in the 2019 election. But Mr Modi and top BJP leaders have proclaimed that this time they are looking beyond 400 seats, making it the most decisive victory ever.
Continuing his tirade against the Congress, he said, “The biggest sin of Congress is that it has not hesitated to break the morale of the country’s armed forces. Congress has left no stone unturned in causing damage to India’s national security and military strength.”
Mr Modi highlighted the development schemes and works for women welfare undertaken under his regime in the last four years. He said he was the first PM to raise the issue of toilets and speak about dignity for women from the Red Fort.
The BJP is bringing together the power of youths, women, farmers and the youth in building a “Viksit Bharat,” Modi said. “We asked those who were not acknowledged by anyone, and not just that, we have also worshipped them,” he said. In the times to come, there will be plenty of opportunities for “our mothers, sisters and daughters”, the PM said.
Prime Minister Modi said women are not just ‘voters’ for the BJP but are ‘mothers and sisters’ who would shower their electoral blessings on the party in the general elections in support and acknowledgement of the work done by the NDA government for them.
Mission Shakti would create a complete ecosystem for the protection and empowerment of women in the country and added that 15,000 women self-help groups will get drones, the PM said. “Now, ‘Drone Didi’ will bring scientific temperament and modernity to farming. Now, three crore women in the country will be made ‘Lakhpati Didis’,” he added.
Dreams of crores of women, poor and youths are Modi’s dream, he said. “We rid the country of mega scams and terror attacks, and made efforts to improve living standards of the poor and the middle class,” the PM said, and claimed that his government had pulled 25 crore people out of poverty during his 10 years of “unblemished governance.”
Mr Modi said 10 years of unblemished governance and pulling 25 crore people out of poverty were no ordinary feats. “A senior leader once told me I had done enough as PM and CM, I should rest. But I am working for ‘rashtraniti’, not ‘rajneeti’,” he said.
Earlier, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah likened the upcoming Lok Sabha polls to the Mahabharata war, asserting that PM Modi was leading the BJP-led camp working for the country’s development while INDIA bloc under the Congress was full of family-run parties and corruption.
The BJP is well into its Lok Sabha election prep mode. Party sources said, as early as last month, that National General Secretaries had begun meeting every week (on Tuesdays) to develop strategies, including candidate placement. At one such meet, attended by Mr Shah and party chief JP Nadda, the party said it would target first-time voters, beneficiaries of central schemes, and voters from backward classes, as well as young people and women, as it bids for a third consecutive term.
Lashing out at the Opposition INDIA bloc for its promotion of dynastic and appeasement politics, Mr Shah said the opposition was full of “2G, 3G and 4G” parties, a reference to the second, third and fourth generation of families running these parties.
He said the Prime Minister had worked for the development of all sections of society and enhanced the country’s global standing. Mr Shah asserted there was no doubt in people’s mind that the Prime Minister would retain power for a third term.
While Mr Modi thought of the poor and the country’s development, INDIA bloc leaders thought of making their children Prime Minister and Chief Ministers, he said, referring to Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Lalu Prasad and M.K. Stalin among others.
All the family “princes” had come together against Mr Modi as they thought only someone from a powerful family could occupy the top position. “On the one hand there are family-run parties and on the other is the son of a poor mother,” he said.
The government had worked to lift the living standards of 60 crore poor who earlier felt left out of the development process, he said. Opposition parties were in denial mode, he said, adding they opposed everything for the sake of it, be it the repeal of Article 370, ban on triple talaq, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or the construction of the new Parliament building.
On the inaugural day of the national convention on Saturday, the BJP passed a political resolution titled ‘Viksit Bharat’, highlighting the achievements of the Centre under Prime Minister Modi. It asserted that the BJP would return for a third term at the Centre and carry forward its roadmap for “holistic development and welfare.”
A political resolution was also passed on the inaugural day condemning the violent crackdowns on Opposition protests against alleged excesses on women in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali. The resolution stated that the events in Sandeshkhali in Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district have put ‘humanity to shame’.
BJP’s National President JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also highlighted the development works carried out by the party post-2014.
Noting that some people used to ridicule the BJP over the over dates for the construction of the grand temple at Ayodhya, JP Nadda took a dig at opposition parties over not attending the Pran Prathistha at Ram Temple last month, saying “you (opposition) did not come, these were your deeds.”