In the last national executive meeting of the BJP before the Assembly polls in five States, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made common cause with the poor, saying they were the focus of his government and projected demonetisation as a long-term tool to fight black money and corruption in order to improve their lives.
In his concluding address to the two-day meeting, Mr. Modi said serving the poor was serving god. He went on to quote a Sanskrit shloka to say he did not covet power, heaven or a second life but longed to end the people’s sufferings.
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Asking party leaders to keep the faith with regard to his government’s decisions, like demonetisation, Mr Modi told them he “had been born in poverty, and had lived in it.” He also told them: “Welcome criticism, don’t be afraid of allegations. If our resolve and inner truth is strong, we will go forward in our path.”
This emotional pitch in the Prime Minister’s speech was a pointer to the fact that demonetisation and attempts to link it to the fight against corruption and expanding the tax base for more public spending will be the main poll planks for the party.
Mr. Modi also made a strong case for transparency in poll funding. “A culture of transparency is emerging in the country and it is our duty to usher in transparency in poll funding as well.” He added that the BJP was wholeheartedly in favour of it and urged all political parties to come together for this.
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Mr. Modi praised party workers and described them as those who didn’t bend to the power of the prevailing wind, but turned it to their advantage. He asked party men not to seek the ticket for relatives and leave candidate selection to the party bodies.
“Prime Minister Modi said the poor and poverty were not a means to win elections for the BJP. For us it is an opportunity to serve. To serve the poor is to serve God,” Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Mr. Prasad said Mr. Modi had ‘saluted’ the spirit of Indian society in taking his government’s campaign against corruption, black money and fake currency to its own.
“There is a tradition in our society that it realises its own strength in fighting social evils. The untrammelled flow of currency is one of the biggest stimulants to corruption and that is why our government’s move on demonetisation received such huge support. I had appealed to the people that some hardship would be there but that it would help in fighting corruption, and people responded whole heartedly,” Mr. Modi reportedly said.
“The poor have the power within themselves to defeat poverty and our government will enable this power,” Mr. Modi added.
'Bigger, cleaner GDP'
Earlier in the day, the national executive passed an economic policy resolution terming demonetisation as a “brave move aimed at the welfare of the poor”.
The resolution was moved by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who also said demonetisation had resulted in “black money being deposited in banks” and will lead to higher revenues and “bigger and cleaner GDP”.
“In this sacred movement across the country, the common people were taking upon themselves the temporary suffering of standing in queues with full enthusiasm and positive energy,” the resolution stated.
Union Minister for Commerce, Nirmala Sitharaman, said “such a decision could only have been taken by a government with a strong political will, which the Modi government has displayed,” she said.
Correction
This article has been corrected for a typo error