BJP sees looming polls as battle with ‘daydreaming’ opposition

THEY NEITHER HAVE A LEADER NOR POLICY NOR STRATEGY, UNION MINISTER JAVADEKAR SAYS

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) projected yesterday the Lok Sabha polls as a battle between a “daydreaming” opposition and its alliance whose leader Narendra Modi has an “approval rating” of over 70 per cent and is set to build a “new India” by 2022.

The political resolution passed by the national executive of the BJP said while the prime minister is building an India of “no poverty, casteism, corruption and communalism”, the sole agenda of the “frustrated” opposition was “roko Modi” (stop Modi), Union minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters.

“The BJP will return to power in 2019 with more seats and votes. The opposition is daydreaming. It neither has a leader nor policy nor strategy. It only has a negative agenda of stopping Modi and people do not like negative politics,” he said about the resolution.

Former party president and Home Minister Rajnath Singh proposed the resolution which highlighted the government’s success in internal security, including complete prevention of terror acts across Indian cities compared to the UPA’s rule when, he claimed, “bomb blasts” would frequently happen in cities.

Javadekar said the resolution praised the leadership of Modi and party president Amit Shah. Modi’s charismatic leadership coupled with his vision and passion, combined with Shah’s hardwork in building the organisation to extend the BJP’s rule to 19 states, he said.

Under the “jodi” (duo) of Modi and Shah, the party has close to 350 MPs and 1500 MLAs, he said. The executive, which comprises key party leaders from across the country, in the resolution asserted the government had progressed a lot in building a new India by 2022, which was a “resolve” of Modi, and expressed the confidence that it will be realised.

Internal security

The government is working with “sabka saath, sabka vikas” and Modi has an approval rating of over 70 per cent, something which is unprecedented for a leader after four years in power, Javadekar said.

On internal security, the resolution said the Naxalism-affected region has shrunk by over two-thirds under the BJP rule while the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) has been lifted from many parts of the north-east region due to return of peace.

“A foundation for development cannot be laid without internal security,” it said.