New Delhi: Assembly elections in five states on its mind, the BJP’s national executive meeting here on Sunday saw Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath proposing the party’s political resolution that praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, with the chief ministers of the three other states pitching in as well.
The resolution also accused the opposition of “opportunism” and acting with a mindset of “extreme hate”, while predicting a big win for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur due to the development works of its state governments and the party’s organisational strength.
Asked about the decision to pick Adityanath to propose the resolution, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman retorted, “Why not”, while praising his work as chief minister and noting that he heads India’s largest state.
The resolution was largely devoted to lauding Prime Minister Modi’s leadership over a range of issues – from the COVID-19 vaccination programme to his stand on climate change – with Sitharaman asserting that his government has restored faith in governance in India and built the country’s image abroad.
India has played an active role in the domain of foreign policies and ensured that it is heard, she told reporters.
The resolution said India is setting new standards of success globally under Modi but the opposition is solely acting out of “extreme hate”, alleging that it was busy derailing the COVID-19 vaccination programme by making every effort and conspiracies and spreading disinformation.
“Opposition parties practised opportunistic politics. They never hit the road during the pandemic and confined themselves to Twitter to spread suspicion,” she said in the briefing on the resolution.
The resolution also attacked West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress for “sponsored violence” against BJP workers in the state and vowed to ensure justice through legal means.
Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai seconded the resolution moved by Adityanath with Union ministers G Kishan Reddy, who is from Telangana, and Ashwini Viashnaw, MP from Odisha, also speaking.
It said the BJP put up an admirable performance in the assembly polls in five states, Bihar, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal, and numerous bypolls and local elections, claiming that this shows the party-run governments and bodies have lived up to people’s expectations.
Asked if there was any reference to the recent by-election results, which have been a mixed bag for the party, Sitharaman said there was no specific discussion on them.
To a query on farmers’ protests, Sitharaman said the government has made it clear time and again its willingness to talk to farmer unions and asked them to list their grievances on the three laws.
Farmer unions have been demanding that the government repeal the laws.
The resolution also said a chapter of “security, peace and development” has opened in Jammu and Kashmir, noting that 2081 people lost their lives in terror incidents between 2004-14, when the Congress-led UPA was in power, while 239 citizens lost their lives between 2014-21. It also mentioned the development initiatives in the union territory and the completion of local body polls.
It also hailed the Modi government for delivering “corruption-free” governance with its emphasis on digitisation and transparency.
With some farmer unions continuing their stir against three farm laws, the BJP highlighted the government’s programmes for their welfare.
It also appreciated the central government for reducing excise duty on petrol and diesel and the BJP dispensations in many states for slashing VAT on them to give relief to consumers.
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