MODI A MINE OF WISDOM, A TREASURE TROVE OF IDEAS!

FOOT PATROLLING - YOGI ADITYANATH Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh

I became the CM of UP in March 2017 and found this opportunity to work for the people of the state. The greatest challenge I faced while working in Uttar Pradesh was the dominance of the Mafia Raj. Girls were unsafe and there were riots very frequently and I shared these pressing concerns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well.

PM Modi then suggested a very unique concept that he said would instill trust and faith in the minds of people and that was “Foot patrolling of Police”. This will help the public and the police to come closer and interact with each amicably. He said that these friendly conversations would change the perception of people. The biggest challenge here was to make the Mafia fear the system and this could be made a reality by working on Modiji’s suggestion. I immediately implemented Foot Patrolling in UP and the results are there for everyone to see today. The law and order situation in the state has ameliorated and it is better than ever before.

FARM TO FOREIGN - MAHESHKUMAR JOGANI Businessman, Surat

Modiji idea changed the landscape of Surat’s textile industry! We had planned an exhibition in Surat and we had invited Narendra Modi to inaugurate the event. Surat is famous for its fabric industry and this exhibition was going to be a big event. Narendra Modi arrived for the event, he inaugurated the exhibition and it was during his address to the guests that he took everyone by surprise. Infact, his suggestion resonated so profoundly with all of us that our minds had already started ticking with the actions that we were to take!

Farm to Fibre to Fabric to Factory to Fashion to Foreign- this wonderful concept that he gave us that day changed the landscape of the fashion scene in our country. This was another famous Local to Global strategy in the field of fashion that was proposed by Modiji that day. The aim was to connect farmers to foreign currency. This entailed enormous value-creation in the sense that the fabric started to give employment to so many workers in our factories. After designing, these clothes were exported and they brought in foreign currency. Every stakeholder had something to profit from in this process. Surat’s economy, south Gujarat’s economy, and the country’s economy gained enormously from this.

THE POWER OF ‘SAHBHOJ’ OR TIFFIN BAITHAK - SUNIL DEODHAR BJP National Leader

It was Modiji’s first visit to Tripura after assuming office as PM. During this visit, he took time out to meet some 15 to 16 party workers. While interacting, he said to the karyakartas “Well, let me suggest something to you. You can consider my suggestion and implement this. Chalk out a list of villages where BJP is not in power. Now choose any one such village and go there.” Now this was December 2014 and many of the public welfare schemes that exist now had not been introduced back then. The Garib Kalyan Yojana was yet to be implemented. But what had started was ‘Swachh Bharat Mission.’ Modiji continued “Visit this village early in the morning and carry your tiffin with you. Once you are there, conduct a cleanliness drive. Let people know about Swachh Bharat and feel the difference. And not just this, carry a Fact Sheet that details out all that BJP has accomplished in the last 6 months. This record of our government’s work should reach the masses.”

Now this is about how Modiji shares innovative ideas with the party workers, expects them to work hard and encourages transparency with the people. But more than that, his thrust is on the importance of listening to people. He emphasized to the party workers “Always lend people an ear. After hearing them out attentively, invite them and gather them for a meeting in the evening. Assure them that you are there to help them and resolve their issues. And most importantly, after you have done the rounds, get together and have your tiffin together.” The word that Modiji uses for this is ‘Sahbhoj’ which means eating together. He asked the party workers to return only after accomplishing all of this during their visit to the villages.

How successful and replete with wisdom his advice always is, it is for everyone to see! In 2014, such meetings were conducted in a place like Tripura and with a small team of party workers. These teams conducted “Tiffin Baithaks” in small groups of people and under Modiji’s guidance results were there to see in 3 years. There was remarkable transformation in the way BJP was perceived in Tripura. The entire state had already been hit by a massive Modi wave!

The blooming, beautiful Krishnasura and the Assam tourism industry - SARBANANDA SONOWAL Union Minister

Once a huge public rally had been organised in Assam’s Guwahati. A gentleman was addressing the rally and Modiji, who was with me on the stage observed that there was a tree which was laden with flowers in the ground where the event was being conducted. He asked me “Which tree is that?” I replied “Sir, it is Krishnasura. This tree grows only in Assam.” So do you know what he said? He said “Plant this tree all over Assam. Let the entire state bloom and look beautiful. And the spectre that will be created through the beauty of this tree and its flowers, people from all over the world will come to witness it. This will be a boon for Assam tourism.” This random but extremely sharp insight by Modiji altered the tourism landscape in Assam. Immediately after, we decided to work on war-footing on the suggestions given by Modiji. Under his guidance, we prepared a plan to promote flowers, fruits and medicinal plants and planted 10 crore trees to promote biodiversity in Assam.

TO BE CONTINUED...

COMPILED AND EDITED BY SHASHIKANT SHARMA AND SHWETA SHARMA