Fix goals for next 25 years: PM to BJP functionaries

Jaipur: Asserting that eight years of his government have been dedicated to good governance and social justice, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked BJP leaders to stick to the issues of national interests and not to “fall in the trap” of some political parties with an “ecosystem” to divert the country’s attention from main matters.

Addressing a virtual meeting of BJP officebearers in Jaipur, Modi also asked them to avoid any shortcut and move forward on the core issues of the country’s interests. It is the time for BJP to fix its goals for the next 25 years and work continuously for them, he asserted.

While the BJP has brought development into the mainstream of national politics, some political parties have been playing with the country’s future for their momentary benefits, he claimed, hitting out at rivals without naming them. For their selfish interests, the parties look for small tensions and weaknesses in the society to pour poison into them, Modi alleged, adding they incite people sometimes in the name of caste or regionalism.

Noting that since the days of Jana Sangh, the forerunner to the BJP, patriotism, national interest and nation-building were at the center of its policies and programs, he said this patriotism has inspired the party to focus on development and trust.

The Prime Minister said people’s faith in the government’s delivery mechanism has been restored post-2014. Modi said the eight years have been of the fulfillment of the expectations of small farmers, labourers and the middle class. The BJP government post2014 has restored the faith of the people in the government, its systems and its delivery mechanism, that had been lost earlier, the prime minister added.

Modi said the world is looking at India with great expectations. He kept up his attack on dynastic parties and said the BJP has to keep fighting them to save democracy and empower it. These parties exist to further family interests and have inflicted a lot of damage on the country, he said. Modi urged BJP leaders on Friday to alert citizens about attempts being made to trigger controversies on the basis of language and asserted that the saffron party considers all Indian languages the soul of “Bharatiyata” (Indianness) and worthy of reverence. “Giving priority to local languages in the National Education Policy manifests our commitment to all regional languages. The BJP considers Indian languages the soul of Bharatiyata and the link to a better future for the country,” he said.