Salient points of speech by BJP National President Shri Amit Shah addressing the Party National Council in Kozhikode (Kerala)

The BJP national president, Shri Amit Shah ji, today addressed the party national council in the dream city of Kozhikode, Kerala—an event that was dedicated to the memory of Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya. Speaking on the occasion, he urged the party workers to observe this centennial year of Upadhyaya ji’s birth as the Year of Welfare for the Poor.

The BJP president said that this Calicut session was historic for every party worker who lived the ideology and ideals that the organization stood for. He said that this land of Lord Parashurama was like a pilgrimage for all workers, as this is where Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya had begun his journey as the president of Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1967, transforming the political scenario of the country with his philosophy of uplift of the last man. He said that the Jana Sangh that had begun with a mere 11 members was today a party of over 11 crore members. He said that the journey from being a party in the opposition to being the ruling party, that from the Jana Sangh to the BJP and that from Calicut to Kozhikode has seen the contributions and sacrifices of several sages and selfless workers who worked with Dadhichi-like dedication devoting every ounce of their sweat and blood, and every moment of their time to the party — and that is why the BJP is today at the height of its glory. Shri Shah said that the BJP now had more than 325 MPs, more than 1,000 MLAs and governments in 13 States of the country including some that have coalition partners. He said that all these governments were dedicated to the welfare of the poor.

Throwing light on the life of the epitome of simplicity, humility, knowledge and modesty, Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya, Shri Shah said that he was an amazing personality who was first an ordinary worker of the party and only then its leader. He said that Upadhyaya ji’s ideals of uplift of the last man and Integral Humanism would guide the country and the world for decades to come. He said that Integral Humanism and its eternal applicability are symbols of unison of human beings and nature, materialism, humanity and social harmony. The BJP governments at the Centre and the States are constantly working towards the realisation of Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya’s ideal of empowering the last man and bettering the economy of the poor, Shri Shah said. He said that welfare of the poor was the objective of all BJP and allied governments and the they are all working on this basis.

BJP takes a pledge today to observe the centennial year of Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya’s birth as Year for Welfare of the Poor, Shri Shah said. He said that every citizen of the country today looked up to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji with hope, and he had shown how a government could work for the poor and uplift of their lot. Shri Shah said that not even the opposition could point a finger at the government and accuse it of corruption in the last two-and-a-half years of its tenure. The BJP has given to the country a government that is corruption-free, transparent and decisive — led by Shri Narendra Modi ji, he said. He said that the Prime Minister had made it clear in his very first speech in Parliament that this would be a government for the poor, Dalits, backward classes and the marginalised sections of society. He said that this government had, in its tenure so far, worked for the welfare of the poor, making the benefit of every scheme reach the last man in queue. He said that the BJP government initiated programmes like Start-Up India, Stand Up India, Skill India and Mudra to end unemployment and make the youth self-sufficient. He said that more than 3 crore 84 lakh youth have so far benefited from the Mudra scheme. He said that different insurance schemes were covering the poorest of the poor with social security net. He said that the government was turning the farmers prosperous through schemes like the Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme, Irrigation Scheme, Soil Health Card, neem-coated urea, easing of norms for compensation for crop loss and increase in the amount of compensation, E-Mandi, etc. He said that the Modi government had given as much importance to the development of villages as it had to the development of cities. He said that every village is now connected with well-constructed roads; all villages are being electrified and supplied with clean drinking water. Citing the example of the Ujjwala Scheme, Shri Shah said that the government, through its Pahal programme, has not only given free LPG connections to poor households — transferring the cylinders from roughly 1 crore -off citizens who responded positively to the “Give It Up” campaign — but also saved Rs 14,900 crore for the exchequer, which was earlier being siphoned off by the corrupt. With the money that was saved from the subsidy hitherto going to richer citizens, the government provided further gas connections to the poor instead of depositing the amount in the treasury, Shri Shah said. Overall, thus, more that 5 crore poor households have benefited from the scheme.

Shri Shah said that, on an average, the Modi government initiated a scheme for development or welfare every 15 days. The BJP has laid emphasis on the politics of performance and its State governments have come to power time and again because of their performance, he said. He said that India was today scripting a new story of development on the canvas of the world. Today, he said, India was the fastest growing economy in the world.

Shri Shah said that all BJP and allied governments were working well in the States. Talking of its government in Assam, he said that it was doing the promised work of identifying and deporting infiltrators. He said when Assam celebrated the Independence Day for three days and when its Chief Minister himself kept a vigil along the borders, it felt him with a sense of pride.

He said that the BJP has undertaken quite a few projects for the expansion of the party, organization and spread of its ideology. He thanked the party workers for participating in the Tiranga Yatra to honour the brave martyrs by reliving their memories across the country, which filled the people with nationalistic fervour.
Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India and no one can separate it from India. We are ready to talk to anybody for peace, provided that entity believes in the Indian Constitution, Shri Shah said. He added that there would be no talks with people who do not honour sanctity of the Constitution.

Mentioning the incident of Uri where 18 of our brave soldiers laid down their lives, Shri Shah said that the BJP strongly condemned the cowardly attack sponsored by Pakistan. The party and all its workers stood in solidarity with the families of our soldiers and brave martyrs in this hour of grief, Shri Shah said, adding that the BJP had had a policy of “zero tolerance” towards terrorism right from its inception. “We will fight terrorism on all fronts decisively — there should be no doubt about that. Uri is not a consequence; it is an interregnum. Our war against terrorism is on, and we will emerge victorious in the war,” Shri Shah said. He said that in past year or so, the security forces have foiled as many as 17 attempts by terrorists to destabilise the country. The BJP president issued a separate statement on the Uri attack subsequently.
Shri Shah said that the BJP was committed to the development of the Northeast. He said that the BJP, through the instrument of NEDA, has formed a separate council for the developmet of States in the region. He said that the BJP would certainly form the government in Manipur following the next election in the State.

The BJP president said that the situation in Uttar Pradesh was worrisome. He said that the land of nobody in the State was safe; the province was reeling under corruption; women were being harassed and oppressed. However, he said, the credit for a pro-poor government at the Centre undoubtedly went to the people of Uttar Pradesh.
Talking of the impending elections in five States, the BJP president said that the party was ready to form governments in Uttarakhand and Punjab along with Uttar Pradesh and Manipur.

Stressing that the year 2017 was an important year for the BJP, Shri Shah said that this was the centennial year of births of Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya, Balasaheb Deoras and Nanaji Deshmukh. He said that the country would also commemorate Guru Gobind Singh this year. He said that on this day of 25 September, every BJP worker must vow to work for the welfare of the poor, development of the country and security of the nation. He said he believed that if more than 11 crore BJP members pledged themselves to the nation, India would certainly re-establish itself as the guide of the world. “We must ensure in the centennial year of Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya’s birth that every poor citizen of the country enjoys an equal right to improve his lot and nobody starves in the country – this will be a true tribute to Deendayal Upadhyaya ji,” Shri Shah said, adding that if there was one party in the country that could set its agenda, it was the BJP and that was an immense responsibility on its workers.

(Mahendra Pandey)
Office Secretary