Gear up for LS election, engage with all communities, PM Modi tells BJP cadres

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, January 17

With around 400 days left for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday exhorted BJP cadres to engage all sections of society irrespective of electoral considerations and expand dialogue with all communities.

Addressing leaders at the conclusion of the two-day BJP national executive meeting here, the Prime Minister urged everyone to connect with Pasmanda and Bohra Muslims and Muslim intelligentsia, Sikhs residing not just in Punjab but in other states as well and tribals in remote corners, besides other sections as he signalled the BJP’s “all-embracing mode” ahead of the nine state elections this year.

‘Reach out to Muslims, Sikhs’

• The PM called for dialogue with Pasmanda and Bohra Muslims and the community’s intelligentsia, Sikhs residing in and outside Punjab and tribals irrespective of vote considerations
• He asked party cadres to educate first-time voters on BJP’s “good governance”
• The country could make rapid progress if “amrit kaal” (period leading to 100 years of Independence) was converted into “kartavya kaal”, he said

“Connect with all sections without the consideration of votes. People may or may not vote for us but that should not deter us from engaging with them. We must redefine narratives in “amrit kaal” (period from 75 to 100 years of Independence). We must talk to everyone, express our viewpoint and listen to theirs,” the PM said, urging the BJP to also educate first-time voters aged 18 to 25 years on the “corruption and misgovernance of past governments vis-à-vis the good governance under the BJP rule”.

The Prime Minister’s “engage everyone” line is a massive extension of the exhortation to engage backward Pasmanda Muslims he made at the party’s previous national executive meeting held in Hyderabad.

Today while calling for mass socializsation as a tool for India’s integration and development in amrit kaal, the PM also called for a consistent dialogue with Dawoodi Bohras, an influential Shia sub-sect of traders, Muslim intellectuals and other segments that have not traditionally sided with the BJP.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis shared the nuances of Modi’s speech, saying, “The PM said India’s golden period was coming and the country could make rapid progress if amrit kaal was converted into ‘kartavya kaal’. He called upon everyone to invest in India’s development and appealed to all to seize this moment in history.”

Fadnavis added that the PM described the BJP as “not merely a political party but a tool for India’s social and economic transformation”.

The PM’s “engage all sections” comments follow RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent remarks where he said “perpetual fighting mode would do the Hindus no good” and that “Hindus having assumed a position of strength must resolve internal conflicts now and offer solutions to others”.

PM TICKS OFF LEADERS FOR NEGATIVE REMARKS

The PM on Tuesday ticked off leaders who routinely make negative remarks on a range of subjects, including films, saying “let us look ahead”.

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