Nationalism is BJP’s core, says Amit Shah
NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah raised the nationalism pitch on Wednesday, asking party workers not only to ‘protect’ its “nationalistic identity” but also to take it forward.
Shah reminded party workers that nationalism was at the core of BJP. This comes at a time when there is a debate over some BJP leaders’ insistence on saying “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.
“The party, started by 11 people, has become a family of 11 crore members. This has happened due to the sacrifices made by thousands of party workers,” Shah said at a gathering of BJP activists at a function to mark its foundation day.
“Nationalism is the identity of our party and our three generations have maintained it by their sacrifices. Now it is our respon- sibility to protect, preserve and carry on this identity,” he said.
Shah started and ended his speech with the slogan “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.
The party chief said the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, BJP’s predecessor and the BJP were founded to provide an optional political ideology to the country.
“After (Jawaharlal) Nehru became the Prime Minister, his Western-oriented policies and decisions compelled nationalistic forces to pave the way for founding the Jana Sangh. If we had followed Nehru’s policies, we would have gone on the wrong path,” he said.
Describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the world’s most popular leader, Shah urged party workers to take the central government’s policies and programmes to the people.