Modi tells party leaders to remain unfazed by criticism

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) preparing for electoral battles in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, and the government facing criticism for demonetisation Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday told the party leadership that it should “welcome criticism” and “be unfazed by it”.

Delivering the concluding address of the two-day national executive meeting of the BJP, the PM also tried to rally the party for the elections and reminded them that they were people who have their ears to the ground and understand the ground reality. “BJP workers don’t float in the air. They have the ability to change the direction of the wind,” he said. Modi appealed to party workers to spread the message of government’s pro-poor schemes to the booth level. Setting the contours of the party’s political discourse in the Assembly polls, the PM said demonetisation was also for the poor. He said corruption was a big social evil, as was black money and both contributed to keep people poor.  

Modi said “unregulated flow of currency” becomes the biggest stimulant for corruption. He said note ban has struck at corruption and black money. Consistent with his efforts to project his government as poor friendly, the PM told the party leadership that he has first-hand experience of what it is like being born in poverty.  Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s losses in Delhi and Bihar, the PM and party chief Amit Shah have felt the need to showcase the government’s pro-poor image, shedding its initial promise of a reformist government.

Asked whether the Modi government has shifted its focus to being pro-poor, while ignoring other sections of the society, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said: “BJP’s commitment to the poor is well known. What is latent has been made more patent (by the PM).”

The PM said the support to demonetisation was evidence of the inner strength of India. He said the BJP didn’t look at the poor and or their welfare as some vote bank or electoral issues. “Service of the poor is service of God,” he said.

Modi criticised those who talk of changing the “lifestyle” of the poor, and said his government’s priority was to “transform the quality of life” of the poor. He said the poor could defeat poverty themselves; all they required were tools to do that.

The PM also reiterated the need for transparency in political funding, electoral reform and simultaneous elections for state Assemblies and Lok Sabha.

BJP Rajya Sabha member Vinay Sahasrabuddhe made a presentation on how BJP state governments have performed better on all indicators. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan showcased his government’s efforts at doubling incomes of farmers

The next BJP national executive would be held on April 15 and 16. The venue will be decided later, Prasad said.