New Delhi: At a time when there are reports of communal flare-ups in various parts of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday made it clear that there would be zero tolerance of violence and the BJP will not compromise on matters of peace and harmony.
If the Congress tried to blame the saffron party for the communal violence in states, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Mr Modi hit back, saying that “even after being routed in the polls, some parties continue to indulge in vote-bank politics”.
The PM said the BJP believes in the mantra of “sabka saath sabka vikas” and added: “We are not saplings that can be trampled upon... we are like that huge tree that can withstand storms and provide shade.” At the meeting to ratify Mr Amit Shah as the new party chief, Mr Modi, referring to the LS elections, described former party chief Rajnath Singh as the “captain” and Mr Shah as the “man of the match”.
Mr Modi also stressed on coordination between the organisation and the government by saying the country has great expectations of both. He assured that his government would fulfil its promises.
“The BJP never accepts incidents (of violence). Peace, unity and harmony are the pre-requisites for progress and there will be no compromise. Those who have suffered a massive defeat in the elections are still not able to desist from engaging in old vote-bank politics. They are engaged in disturbing the social fabric,” Mr Modi said in a veiled attack on the Congress and SP.
The BJP had been accused of fanning communal violence in UP. Mr Modi asked party workers to play a part in ensuring communal and national unity so that the nation moves forward.
"If we have to take the nation forward, then all the 125 crore people will have to move forward," he said. He congratulated the people of the country for their contribution in the Lok Sabha elections and thanked them for the mandate they gave his party.
At the first council meeting of the saffron party after the Lok Sabha elections, Mr Modi, without naming the Congress, said those who have not done anything for 60 years are "asking for our account of 60 days".
"We are judged by different and tough yardsticks. I don’t know why it is happening. Only time will tell. But we should accept this challenge. It is good for us that we are judged by a stringent yardstick. We will pass the test," Mr Modi said.
He added that he himself had "come out of 14 years of trial", an apparent reference to his stint as Gujarat chief minister and being under constant attack over the 2002 post-Godhra riots.
Noting that people have given their verdict through the ballot, he said, "It is our turn now", adding, "We will adequately fulfil the aspirations of the people."
Contending that things have started to change after 60 days of the BJP coming to power, the PM said, "We will be successful in bringing about change... We have to have faith in ourselves. We will never bow before adversities."
He said he had got a grasp of things after being at the helm of government for 60 days and was confident that major tasks could be executed. Mr Modi stressed on participatory democracy rather than representative democracy. He said the outlook of the world towards India has changed because the BJP had come to power with a full majority.
"It reposes confidence in them (foreign countries)," he said. He underlined the need to take advantage, globally, of the fact that the BJP has got such a big majority. He also said that India’s stand at the recent WTO meeting was in the interest of the country’s poor and farmers. Mr Modi said instead of going for good publicity, his government decided to support farmers and food security and said the UPA had accepted a decision that had put the country’s food security under threat.
Taking a dig at his rivals, he said questions were asked as to "who knows Modi outside Gujarat" but "people were in a mood to give and they gave". He also took a dig at the previous UPA vernment by saying most of his time in the last two months had been spent cleaning up and changing the work culture.
Recalling the start of the general election campaign, Mr Modi said, "Some of my colleagues said why am I talking about numbers. But I felt that people had made up their mind to vote for the BJP and just wanted someone to ask for it." He also suggested that the BJP should dedicate each year to promoting social causes like energy conservation, toilets and education of the girl child.
The meeting was also attended by the BJP central leadership, including Mr L.K. Advani, Mr Arun Jaitley, Mr Rajnath Singh and Mr Nitin Gadkari, as well as its chief ministers from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Goa and state leaders.
