Must Learn From Mistakes Of Parties In Terminal Decline: PM Modi

The BJP on Sunday resolved to end "family rule" in Telangana and West Bengal and also form governments in others states which have remained out of its reach, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorting its members to learn from the mistakes of parties that were now in "terminal decline" despite ruling the country for long.

Proposing the party's political resolution at the BJP national executive meeting here, Union Home Minister Amit Shah identified southern India as the region for its next round of growth and said the opposition had become disjointed and dispirited with members of the Congress fighting for democracy within their organisation while its ruling family clings to its position.

In his speech at the final session of the two-day meet, Modi, who has often accused opposition parties of practising appeasement politics, said the BJP's goal should be to take the country from "tushtikaran" to "triptikaran". "This will lead to 'sabka vikas' (development of all)."

Sources said Prime Minister Modi has also suggested that party workers should reach out to deprived and downtrodden sections among the minorities too.

He made the suggestion in his intervention during a presentation by the party unit in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP recently won Lok Sabha bypolls in Rampur and Azamgarh, the two bastions of the Samajwadi Party having substantial Muslim population.

There have been several experiments in Indian politics with social equations among Hindus and attempts should be made to reach out to socially backward minorities such as Pasmanda Muslims, sources quoted Modi as having told the meeting.

On Sunday, Modi called for taking out "Sneh Yatra" which will be aimed at boosting affection and coordination in society by reaching out to different sections of people, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a press conference.

Modi batted for "P2 to G2" (Pro-people to good governance) in the party's political and governance model.

Emphasising the need for party workers to stay connected to people, he said they should not make fun of or jeer at the parties which are in terminal decline and instead learn from their mistakes.

Taking aim at the opposition, Modi said the country was fed up with dynastic politics and dynastic parties and added that it would be difficult for them to survive long.

"Opposition parties are in a very bad shape. We should learn from their state as to what shortcomings and failings caused their fall. They drifted from people and continue to do so. We have to keep ourselves away from the reasons for their decline," Modi said.

Shah in his nearly hour-long speech also called for ending the politics of dynasty, casteism and appeasement, terming them as "greatest sins" and the reason behind the country's sufferings over the years, and cited the party's win in a string of recent polls as an endorsement of its "politics of development and performance".

Communalism and fundamentalism are products of appeasement, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while briefing reporters on Shah's address.

The party's political resolution also praised the Agnipath scheme for short-term recruitment in the armed forces which had sparked public protests and criticism from opposition parties, and lauded the government's courage in taking a host of initiatives for the country's development, Sarma said.

Shah also hailed as "historic" the recent Supreme Court verdict dismissing a plea challenging the Special Investigation Team's (SIT) clean chit to 64 people, including then chief minister Narendra Modi, in the 2002 Gujarat riots case. The court had also come down hard on the petitioners. The apex court has exposed opposition parties, a section of media and some NGOs for their conspiracy to defame Modi, he said.

The BJP leader said Modi received insults, maintained silence while facing the SIT and kept his faith in the Constitution while contrasting this with the Congress' attempt to spread "anarchy" after its leader Rahul Gandhi was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald case.

The home minister said Modi drank all the poison thrown at him like Lord Shiva and faced the probe.

Sarma parried queries on whether the killing of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal, who was hacked to death by two Islamic fanatics, or the row involving suspended BJP member Nupur Sharma over her objectionable remarks against Prophet Mohammad was part of deliberations at the national executive meet, but added that specific incidents are generally not discussed at such a conclave where the focus is on "macro" issues.

He, however, alleged that had the Congress not started politics of appeasement, incidents like the Udaipur killing might not have happened.

Shah also sought an end to political violence. Sarma, though, did not elaborate on this. The BJP has in the past accused parties such as the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and the Left in Kerala of resorting to violence against its workers.

Claiming that the BJP will end family rule in Telangana and West Bengal, Shah said it will come to power in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Odisha, states which have so far remained out of the saffron party's power march since it formed government at the Centre in 2014.

There was a "collective hope and finding" at the meeting that the BJP's next round of growth will come from south India, Sarma added.

Targeting the Congress, Shah said the Gandhi family is not letting internal organisational elections happen because it fears losing its control of the party.

The opposition is disjointed and has been opposing everything good the government does, he said, referring to issues such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya, surgical strikes and abrogation of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Referring to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, he said the saffron party under the Modi government chose a Dalit, incumbent President Ram Nath Kovind, and now a Scheduled Tribe during the two elections for the top constitutional post and asked party members to publicise the story of Murmu's life and struggle.

With the BJP in power in all the northeastern states either on its own or as part of alliances, Shah said the region will remain a stronghold of the party. All disputes in the region will be resolved by 2024, he added, a reference to boundary conflicts and militancy there.

Close on the heels of its victory in four states, the BJP has returned to power in Maharashtra too and is already in preparation for the next round of Assembly polls due later this year. 

(with inputs from PTI)