Earlier this year Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked party members to fan out across the country as part of a three-week long programme of village outreach that began on April 14 (Ambedkar Diwas) and would continue till May 5. He wanted all MPs and MLAs to spend at least one night in one of the 20,000 identified villages that had a Dalit population of 50% or more.
On Wednesday, during an informal chat with his Cabinet colleagues, Mr. Modi wanted to know how many had managed to spend even one night in these villages. Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh turned out to be the only one to answer in the affirmative, with his portfolio having aided the endeavour. With the programme winding down in just over a week, a report on just who made it out there is being collated.
Mr. Modi has, over the course of the last four years, tried to change the orientation of his party and consequently his government too, to a more rural, farmer-friendly outlook, and change the perception that the BJP is an urban, north Indian, upper caste party. The visit to villages by party MPs and the compulsory night stay has been emphasised to send that message home, not so much to the voter at large as to his own party men and women.
The village outreach is also part of an ongoing series of initiatives to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the Modi government by spreading awareness about its achievements. A committee of Ministers comprising Roads and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal is preparing a report on the work done by the government.
“The government is putting together a report of its work in the last 48 months and every department has been asked to send its collation to the committee,” said a senior source in the government.
The UPA government used to present an annual report of its own to celebrate the anniversaries of its government. But the NDA has had different kinds of celebrations, including a massive rally by Mr. Modi at Nagla Chandraban, the birthplace of Deendayal Upadhyaya, and a gala at India Gate featuring Amitabh Bachchan.
