Joint Oppn a sign of success for us: PM Modi to party
‘Ajay Bharat, Atal BJP’ to be new slogan
NEW DELHI: The coming together of opposition parties who do not see eye to eye, cannot tolerate each other and have no ideological commitment to form a grand alliance is a vindication of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) success, and nobody, not even smaller parties, are ready to accept the leadership of the Congress party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.
Delivering the concluding address at the BJP’s national executive, Modi set the tone for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by coining the ‘Ajay Bharat, Atal BJP’ slogan to highlight what leaders described as the party’s commitment to its core values and the country’s progress.
Using ‘Atal’ in the slogan also tied in with the party’s efforts to perpetuate the legacy of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who died on August 16.
“They (grand alliance) have no leader, their policies are unclear, and their intent is corrupt,” the prime minister said, asking the party to expose the “lies, falsehood and misrepresentation” of the Opposition.
The media did not have direct access to the meet, and the details of the PM’s speech were given later by Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Before Modi, party president Amit Shah outlined the “mantra for victory” to the party, asking it to reach out to 220 million beneficiaries of the government schemes and 9 crore members of the party. “If we win 2019, we are going to be in power for next 50 years. Nobody can remove us,” Shah said.
“Those who were failure in the government are failure in opposition, too. They have not raised real issues,” Prasad quoted Modi as saying.
He said the prime minister said that the BJP was ready for a debate if it was challenged on the issue of ideology or its performance, but the Congress’s strategy was restricted to spreading falsehoods. which “need to be challenged with facts”.
Modi said while the BJP’s ideology remains firm, the strategy changes according to the situation, and spoke in detail about the grand alliance in the making, saying it comprises parties who have no ideological bonding.
His remarks come in the backdrop of former arch-rivals Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party cobbling up an alliance in Uttar Pradesh, which accounts for 80 Lok Sabha seats. This alliance defeated the BJP in three by-elections to Lok Sabha seats in recent months.
Modi was also dismissive of the Congress as a serious challenger in 2019. He said other parties, even smaller parties, do not want to align themselves with the Congress and some even consider it as a baggage.
“This leadership trouble is also from within the Congress,” Modi said.
Reacting to the remarks, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said: “In 2014, Shri Narendra Modi was elected by the people of India, because he promised to deliver ‘New India’ in 60 months. Having run a ‘Jumla’ Govt for 52 months, Modi-Shah duo is weaving another set of lies to befool the people.” “#BJPNationalExecutive summary -: Arrogance ‘Modi-fied’! + ‘Shahi’ Arrogance!!!” Surjewala tweeted.
Modi also spoke about his welfare schemes and said his government’s “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” (development for all) outlook has benefitted people from across castes and communities. The government, he said, wants development with human face, equality with humanity, and prosperity for the country on the bedrock of simplicity.
A political resolution adopted at the meeting said Modi defies conventional political wisdom about incumbency by recording a 70% popularity rating after four years in power. The party did not say where this figure came from.
“No other Indian leader comes anywhere close to him. Since 2014, we have won elections in 15 states and lost in six. We are in power in 20 Indian states today while the Opposition controls 10; Congress has its governments in three out of them. 60% of India ruled by BJP governments besides the central government,” read the party document.
The party spoke about the final draft list of the National Citizens Register in Assam, the Goods and Services Tax, and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code as some of the government’s key achievements.
The resolution said that India’s economic basics were being set right while bringing economic discipline and rule of law in the governance.
“As a result, after a brief slowdown, the Indian economy is rising fast,” it said.
“In his speech, Modi framed the prospect of opposition unity as an asset, rather than a liability. By painting a potential ‘mahagathbandhan’ as an intellectually bankrupt, leaderless marriage of convenience designed to keep the BJP out of power, Modi is able to play the victim card,” said Milan Vaishnav of the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace.
“The subtext of his message is: you can’t beat something with nothing.”