Blood donation camp to free ration: BJP’s mega plans for PM’s birthday

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning to launch a mega public outreach campaign to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 71st birthday on Friday, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The 20-day mega campaign, titled ‘Seva aur Samarpan Abhiyan’, will be held between September 17 and October 7.

To mark the special occasion, the party high command has instructed the cadre to achieve the milestone of delivering 15 million vaccines in a single day, organise health and blood donation camps, distribute rations to the poor and e-auction the gifts and mementoes received by the PM. On Friday, BJP president JP Nadda will also inaugurate a photo exhibition to mark the completion of 20 years of Modi’s political life.

In a Twitter post on Thursday, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said: “Tomorrow is the birthday of our beloved prime minister, let’s do #VaccineSeva by helping all unvaccinated people including their loved ones, family members and all sections of the society by getting them vaccinated. This would be a birthday gift for the prime minister.”

According to news agency PTI, as part of the campaign, over 140 million ration bags with Modi’s pictures will be distributed among the needy and about 50 million BJP booth workers will send Modi postcards highlighting their commitment to public service.

“The workers have been asked to address vaccine hesitancy and ensure people in their respective areas are vaccinated,” a BJP functionary, who asked not to be named, told HT.

As part of the campaign, the ministry of culture has organised an e-auction of gifts and mementoes received by the PM. “The memorabilia includes sports gear and equipment of the medal-winning Olympians and Paralympians, a replica of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, Char Dham, Rudraksh Convention Centre, models, sculptures, paintings and angavastras, among others,” the ministry said.