Modi to BJP MPs: Opposition attacks will grow, be ready for a fight

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi told BJP parliamentarians on Tuesday that as the Congress and other Opposition parties intensify their campaign against the BJP and the government following Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha after his conviction and the demand for a JPC on the Adani issue, such attacks from the Opposition would only grow in the coming days.

Mr Modi, who addressed the BJP parliamentary party here on Tuesday, was felicitated by BJP leaders for the party’s performance in the recent Assembly polls in the Northeast, and told the party MPs that the more the BJP wins elections, the more it will be targeted.

The PM also asked the MPs to dedicate the period between the party’s foundation day on April 6 and B.R. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary on April 14 to the cause of social justice.

Briefing the media after the meeting, Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the PM also asked party MPs to promote and publicise various government schemes for a month from May 15 in their respective constituencies to mark nine years of the Narendra Modi government.

In his address, Mr Modi also called upon party leaders to work for the cause of “Mother Earth”. The PM said that “Mother Earth” was crying for freeing her from chemicals poisoning her, adding that she has nurtured humanity through trees, grains and other produce.

He said politicians should work for non-political causes as well as they have a lot of impact on society. In this context, Mr Modi noted the Gujarat government’s work for “Beti Bachao” (save daughters) when he was the chief minister and said it helped a lot in improving the gender ratio.

In an apparent reference to the persistent Opposition protests, Mr Modi noted he had said during the Gujarat polls that such agitations will become more intense as the BJP wins more and more elections. The party will face more intense and low-level attacks, he noted.

This was the first BJP parliamentary party meeting after the recent Assembly polls in three Northeast states, where the party was able to retain power in Tripura. Its alliance also won the polls in Nagaland while the party again joined hands with the NPP to be a part of the government in Meghalaya.

As the Congress decides to intensify its protests against its leader’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha after he was convicted by a Surat court in a defamation case, the BJP has also decided to “expose” the Opposition party’s “anti-OBC mindset” throughout the country.

BJP OBC morcha chief and MP K. Laxman said that the morcha will carry out a massive outreach campaign, “Gaon Gaon chalo, Ghar ghar chalo”, which will be launched by party president J.P. Nadda from Haryana’s Manesar on April 6. Through this campaign, the party is planning to reach out to one crore people in rural areas to highlight what the Central government under Mr Modi has done for the community, compared to the previous governments. While the Congress has been attacking the ruling party for its leader’s disqualification as “murder of democracy”, the BJP has been countering the attack by highlighting that Mr Gandhi’s disqualification was after the court's conviction and that he had insulted the OBC community through his remarks, for which the court took action in a case.

The BJP president will be hosting a dinner for the party’s OBC MPs later on Tuesday evening.