At the first meeting of the BJP's Parliamentary Party after the Assembly polls in five States, where the party defended its governments in four States, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned partymen on the ills of dynastic politics which, he said, led to casteism. He lauded film The Kashmir Files on the Kashmiri Pandit community's exodus from the State in the 1990s, stating that the truth about issues must be revealed in all its aspects.
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BJP MPs felicitated Mr. Modi and party president J.P. Nadda on Tuesday at their meeting and accorded a standing ovation to them for leading the party's victory in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
Ticket for children
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Modi said many partymen sought ticket for their children but it was his decision that the ticket be denied, and that the onus of this refusal was on him. "Several Members of Parliament and party leaders were seeking ticket in the recently concluded elections for their children and many of them were denied. For those who are not given ticket for the children, the responsibility entirely lies with me," he is learnt to have said at the meeting.
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There would be no place for dynastic politics in the BJP and the family-led political parties would continue to be challenged, he stated. Sources present at the meeting said he was clear that "a message needs to go to people that family and dynastic politics are not leading the country anywhere".
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi explained, "Prime Minister Modi appreciated how the BJP proceeded against parivarvaad [dynasty politics]. He talked about how people did politics without any details and statistics during the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine and talked about how Poland gave open access to our nationals."
Remarks on film made public
On Kashmir Files, the Prime Minister's remarks were made public. "It is a misfortune of our country, that for history to be rightly shown at the right time, where books, poems and films are important, is not done. Everyone speaks of Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, but not equally about Mahatma Gandhi. After many years, when a foreigner made a film on Mahatma Gandhi and it won awards, then the world woke up to his greatness. There are many who speak of freedom of expression, but the experience has been different. In contemporary times, there was such a big event of Emergency, but till now no one has been able to make a film on it, on Partition too, when we suggested that August 14 that it should be marked as Partition Horror Remembrance Day, that too was opposed by certain sections," he observed.
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"Many speak of freedom of expression, but for the last four-five days that entire section is upset over Kashmir Files. The entire ecosystem has run a campaign against the film not on facts but other things. My issue is not the film itself, my issue is that the truth should be revealed for the betterment of the country, and truth should be revealed in all aspects. Those opposing the film can make their own films, but attempts are being made to suppress the film. To stand with the truth is, however, the duty of all and I hope all stand by it," he said.
The meeting took place at the Ambedkar Centre on Janpath Road due to the ongoing repair work in the Parliament library building.
Besides Mr. Modi and Mr. Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Mr. Joshi and Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal were present.