BJP defends PM from Opposition's barrage, says he is 'most popular' leader

Defending Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the torrent of sundry charges from the Opposition, the Centre said on Friday that he was without a doubt one of the most popular leaders in the world and that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was proud of him and was thriving under his leadership.

"When the BJP fought the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and was trying hard to improve its performance from 2009, Narendra Modi proved to be the man for the occasion, for the party and for the nation. He led the campaign which resulted in spectacular victory of the party and after he became the Prime Minister, he lifted the spirit and the pride of the entire nation, among the people of India and the world," Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told the media here.

He added that the Prime Minister had played a vital role in the party's success in state assembly elections like Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana where they got a comfortable majority.

"Prime Minister Modi proved his image as a decisive, dynamic and oriented leader by changing the perception of India globally, mobilizing the investment for which he became recognised as a world leader in a short span," Naidu said.

Emphasising that Prime Minister Modi had made history with his surge in global popularity, the Union Minister said that never in recent history had a country or its leader occupied such high stature in the world.

"The BJP needs his leadership and we are proud of him. Every BJP sympathiser or activist should strengthen the hands of the party and also make their contribution so that the Prime Minister can take forward his movement for the country," Naidu added.

The Prime Minister came under the Opposition's guns for his recent 'intolerance' statement in the U.K, where he said that the land belonging to Gandhi and Buddha would not digest intolerance on any level.

The Congress has lashed out saying that one hand the Prime Minister hit out against intolerance in the global arena, when back home, he flatly refuses to rein in his ministers from spreading communal hate.

"Any event in any corner of India - it doesn't matter if there are even one or two incidents - we will not tolerate it and the law will deal with it strictly. It does not matter whether such an incident is significant for a country of 125 crore people. For us, every incident is serious. We will not accept anything that goes against our social values," Prime Minister Modi had said in his joint statement.