Setting his sights on BJP win in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asked party workers not to be complacent as there is a view that “no one can defeat” the party next year.
Addressing BJP members at the party’s 44th foundation day, Prime Minister also slammed the Opposition for a “badshahi” mindset and insulting poor and backward classes.
He said those fighting an “existential battle” have become desperate at the exposure of their corruption and are conspiring against his government, which is committed to taking tough steps to rid India of corruption, nepotism and law and order challenges.
“Full of hate, these people are speaking one lie after another. They have become restless and desperate at the exposure of their corrupt deeds. They can see now only one way out. They are openly saying ‘Modi teri kabar khudegi’. They are issuing threats to dig (my) grave,” he said.
Modi cautioned party members, who heard his nearly 50-minute-long address at over 10 lakh places where it was broadcast live, against complacency, noting that it is already said that no one can defeat the ruling party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“Despite being the world’s biggest political party, we don’t have to be complacent. People have already started saying that no one can defeat the BJP in 2024. This is true but as BJP workers we have to win the heart of every citizen of the country,” he said.
“We should not be confined to winning polls. Our goal is to win over the hearts of crores of people. We have to fight every poll with the same hard work that we have put in since the time of Jana Sangh,” he said and lauded the contribution of the party workers. With the BJP accusing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of insulting backward communities, Modi slammed some persons with a “badshahi” mindset for insulting the poor and backward since the party stormed to power in 2014 and accused them of treating people like slaves for decades after independence. The BJP has empowered these people’s voices, he said. The British might have left in 1947 but they left behind the seeds of treating people as slaves in the minds of some, he said. “This class of people prospered a lot in the years after independence who considered power their birthright,” he added in a clear swipe at the Congress which ruled the country in the early decades after freedom.
Modi also accused the Congress and other political parties of being tied to nepotism, dynasty, casteism and regionalism. The BJP represents a new culture of taking everyone along, he asserted. “The BJP has taken birth from the womb of democracy, and has been nourished and nurtured with the nectar of democracy,” he said. A host of opposition parties, including the Congress, the Left and several regional parties, have come together over the alleged targeting of their leaders by central probe agencies in corruption cases and also over the issue of Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a defamation case last month. Without referring to various allegations levelled by these parties against his government, the Prime Minister said they have been “battling an existential crisis” and are resorting to levelling allegations and hatching conspiracies against the ruling party. The support of the poor, tribals, backward classes, Dalits and women among others will continue to protect the ‘lotus’ (BJP party symbol) and help it bloom, he said, adding the BJP cannot let people’s aspirations and dreams go unfulfilled and will continue to focus on development and welfare.
