Continue Sneha Yatras: PM

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday mooted a ‘Sneha Yatra’, a massive public outreach programme to reach out to minorities, especially Muslims and Christians, to win their confidence.

In an apparent attempt to remove insecurity among the minorities, the Prime Minister, speaking on the concluding day of the party’s National Executive Meeting, directed party leaders from North-Eastern states to showcase to the rest of the country how the BJP government there had not only safeguarded the Christian community’s interests, but also worked for their prosperity.

The Prime Minister also asked BJP Chief Ministers to stay put in Kerala and Goa, and interact with Christian groups regularly. Sources told Deccan Chronicle that the Prime Minister wanted the party to take a cue from its recent victories in Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha bypolls.

The bypolls were won in Muslim-dominated regions. Modi reportedly highlighted misconceptions about the party’s approach towards minorities, mainly due to Opposition propaganda, and is seeking to reach out to all communities to convey that the party was not against any religion.

The Prime Minister, according to sources, said all states should emulate the ‘UP Model’ in which most backward sections among the Muslim community were identified and brought into the party’s fold. They extended full support to the party in the recent by-polls, he pointed out.

Highlighting that the party had nominated a tribal woman for the Presidential election, Modi asked the party cadre to put up Droupadi Murmu’s photo in all the panchayat offices, especially in tribal hamlets. He suggested the party celebrate occasions like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Police Commemoration Day and Army Day with the public.

Explaining the spirit of the initiative, a former Union minister said the party would also acknowledge the contributions of officials and staff working in government offices. “After all, if staff at a police station, or a primary health centre, or other government offices are delivering good services to citizens, what is wrong in acknowledging such work and letting them know that the party values their contributions to the country?” the minister said.