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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Congress ideology should be replaced with that of BJP: Amit Shah
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Congress ideology should be replaced with that of BJP: Amit Shah

BJP chief asked cadres to work for expanding the party's reach with focus on states where assembly polls are due in near future

Shah, a close confidante of Modi, slammed the former UPA govt, saying it had left the country in bad condition as it had ‘failed on all fronts’. Photo: Hindustan TimesPremium
Shah, a close confidante of Modi, slammed the former UPA govt, saying it had left the country in bad condition as it had ‘failed on all fronts’. Photo: Hindustan Times

New Delhi: With the formal appointment of Amit Shah as the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the party’s national council meeting on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cemented the relationship between the government and party.

Shah was chosen as BJP president by its parliamentary board, the highest decision making body of BJP, on 9 July and the decision was ratified by the national council on Saturday.

During the day-long national council meeting at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Delhi, both Modi and Shah emphasized on the need to increase the footprint of the BJP in states where assembly elections are due in the coming months. The two leaders said it was the duty of the party to take decisions and policies of the government to the people and inform the government about the problems and issues concerning the people.

The BJP leadership also started preparations for assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand that go to polls later this year. Party leaders also asked the cadre to be prepared for election in Delhi whenever it is announced.

“I am new to Delhi but after working in the government, I am confident that we will fulfil the expectations of the people. I have spent time in changing the work culture and the government is ready with the road map to complete the promises made in the BJP manifesto during the elections," Modi said at the national council meeting.

While defending the government’s stand at WTO, Modi attacked the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for signing an agreement at previous WTO meeting that could have affected the poor and farmers of the country. The Union government is of the opinion that developing countries such as India must have the freedom to use food reserves for the poor without facing any threat of violating any international obligations.

Modi said, “Political parties that were talking about providing food security to people signed an agreement that could have led to poor not getting food. In all our decisions, we have to decide whether it will benefit people or not."

India had recently scuttled the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which is part of the Bali package at the WTO, as the government was not satisfied with the progress on finding a permanent solution to the food security issue.

Modi said that the government had decided to ensure that there is food for poor and farmers are not affected. “The decision of the government will not give us good publicity in western media but it was the right decision to take," Modi added.

In the course of the meeting, the Prime Minister also suggested that the BJP should dedicate itself to take up a social cause every year that not only benefits the people but also be of national interest. Modi stressed that issues related to energy saving, educating the girl child and providing sanitation facilities to every household should be taken up the party so that there is a distinct identity of the BJP in the minds of people.

Coming out with his first advice for the ministers in the government, BJP president Shah said that all ministries and departments should work towards completing the promises made by the party in the election manifesto. “It is the duty of the party to take the message of the government to the people but it also the duty of the party to inform the government about the issues and grievances that bother people," he said.

Shah, who is credited with getting BJP-led alliance 73 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections, said, “for long Congress vichar (ideology) has been predominant in the country’s politics. Now it is time to ensure that our vichar has an imprint on nation’s politics".

Shah also said that the BJP should win all the four assembly elections and try to increase its support base in states such as Odisha, Telangana, West Bengal and Kerala where the party managed to get votes but failed to convert them into Lok Sabha seats.

Meanwhile, senior leaders of the Congress said that the BJP government was trying to hoodwink people and hide its failures by attacking the Congress.

“I heard the speakers at the BJP’s national council. One after another, they spoke of the Congress and nothing else. They appear to have been afflicted by severe Congress-phobia or are obsessed with the Congress. Their fear of the Congress is such that they seem to have forgotten that they are now the ruling party and not the opposition," Ajay Maken, senior Congress leader said in a release issued by the party.

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Published: 09 Aug 2014, 01:22 PM IST
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