Party supreme, government a tool: Modi ahead of national executive

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed happiness at voters becoming members of the BJP, as he told office bearers ahead of the national executive that the party was "supreme" and the government a "tool" to achieve the ends.

At a closed-door meeting of national office bearers of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Modi said enrolled BJP members, the number of which was reaching 10 crore, should be converted into "party workers".

"It is good that we are touching 10 crore. The task is to convert them into workers," the prime minister was quoted as saying.

He said the party was "supreme" and the government only a "tool" to achieve the targets.

Addressing the meeting attended by around 130 office bearers, the prime minister said it was "good that voters are becoming members", sources said.

Talking about the campaign to clean the Ganga river, Modi said the plan was not for the Ganga alone but for all rivers across the country.

He said there was enormous spiritual strength in this campaign and it can change the face of India.

Modi also called upon the workers to make yoga reach every village of the country on International Yoga Day on June 21.

The prime minister also stressed spreading information about plans like the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna and Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao.

Talking about his pet project Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Modi said "10,000 of the 10 crore members should exclusively work for Swachh Bharat."

He also said party workers as well as people of the country were happy that former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpaye was conferred the Bharat Ratna.

The national executive of the BJP will meet here on Friday and Saturday.

According to party sources, the states identified for the purpose of converting party member to workers include Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha.

The contentious land acquisition bill, which is facing stiff opposition in parliament and outside, is also likely to feature prominently in the meet.

All this comes as there were doubts on Thursday whether party veteran L.K. Advani will address the national executive or not.

Sources said Advani's name was missing from the list of speakers, but it was not confirmed officially.

Earlier on Thursday, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said the party would adopt a resolution on the political situation in the country and another on international affairs.

The BJP's poor performance in the Delhi assembly polls, and campaigning for the upcoming Bihar polls are also likely to come up.