A dynamic convergence of perspectives and thoughts on the changing political and governance landscape in the country concluded at Manch 2023, a three-day political conclave organised by ITV Network, with predictions about BJP winning between 350-400 seats in the next Lok Sabha election and “Modi magic” getting stronger by the day.
In a separate legal session, Supreme Court’s Justice Surya Kant referred to challenges like deep fakes and cyber bullying and called for steps to ensure that social media remains a tool of empowerment and does not turn into a weapon of “misinformation”. He was addressing the Second Law and Constitution Dialogue, organised by Legally Speaking, on Friday.
Earlier, BJP vice-president Baijayant Panda projected 350-plus seats for the BJP on its own in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections due to “Modi ki guarantee”.
On the INDI Alliance, Panda said, “This is the latest iteration of a repeatedly failed idea.”
Calling the Opposition bloc a flopped experiment, Panda said it is another thing to bring parties on the same platform on the basis of ideology, and another to bring parties on stage through camaraderie of leaders.
Sudhanshu Trivedi, BJP MP and national spokesman, hit out at the Opposition for accusing the BJP of doing “Gau Mata politics”. Even Mahatma Gandhi prayed Gau Mata and today non-BJP parties are blaming us for promoting Gau Mata. “The parties that deserted Gau Mata are vanquished,” he said.
On the caste census, he said who stopped the caste census in 1951? It was PM Jawaharlal Nehru. The Congress is the one which has been opposed to it, he said. “Even regional party leaders like RJD leader Lalu Yadav and SP leader Mulayam Yadav could not promote anyone from their Yadav community to take over party control from them and they could only pick their own family members,” said Trivedi.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes in “sabka ka sath and sabka samman”, giving respect and due space to all communities and castes but the so-called leaders of suppressed castes and communities are only promoting their own family members.
On Rahul Gandhi, without naming him, Trivedi said he prayed at Pushkar in Rajasthan during the 2018 Assembly election and made public his gotra but now he and his allies are opposing the Hindu ethos. “For him his Hindu identity is just an election gimmick,” he said.
In his inimitable poetic style, Trivedi reiterated the BJP’s commitment to achieve welfare for all through “Sabka saath, sabka vikas”. Talking about women welfare, Sunita Duggal, BJP MP from Sirasa, said if there is a leader after B.R. Ambedkar who understands the needs and aspirations of women, it’s Prime Minister Modi.
The women reservation bill, passed with the efforts of Modi, has inspired many young girls to join politics to serve the people of the country, she said.
Hitting out at SP leader Akhilesh Yadav on women empowerment, she said he only empowers his own family and projects his wife as CM and thinks welfare of the entire nations’ women has been done.
A session at the Conclave featuring women leaders of BJP, Congress and AAP saw a debate on women centric policies of governments yielding electoral benefits. BJP leader Tina Kapoor Sharma credited the Modi government for getting the women reservation bill passed and getting 12 crore toilets built for women.
Alka Lamba of the Congress and Priyanka Kakkar of the AAP challenged Sharma’s claims about the BJP’s welfare schemes and alleged that the saffron party has been shielding elected representatives accused of raping minors and crimes against womend. Kakkar said the toilet scheme of the Modi government was a sham as the CAG had raised doubts over its outcome.
