G20 presidency a matter of pride for all Indian citizens: PM Modi

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Monday (5) said that India's presidency of the G20 is a matter of pride for all citizens and it is an occasion to establish globally Indianness and its culture.

Addressing a key meeting of BJP leaders from across the country, Modi also asked party members to maintain direct connect with border villagers and said they should be developed as places that draw visitors.

BJP leader and the former chief minister of the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, Raman Singh, briefed reporters on the meeting and Modi's closed-door address.

The prime minister inaugurated the BJP's national office-bearers meeting and said there is an acknowledgement worldwide of the country's emergence as an economic power amid global challenges like the Ukraine war and the Covid-19 pandemic.

He also lauded the "Kashi Tamil Sangamam", a month-long event going on in Varanasi that celebrates ancient cultural ties between the two places.

Modi said "sneh milan", an idea he had first voiced during the party's national executive meeting in Hyderabad, programmes should be promoted for cultural exchanges as being seen in Kashi, an ancient name of Varanasi.

Singh said the two-day meeting will discuss various topical issues and also upcoming state elections. Party leaders are deliberating on further strengthening its presence at booths.

Besides its national office-bearers, presidents and general secretaries (organisation) of the BJP's state units are also part of the meeting chaired by the party's national president J P Nadda.

The party's future strategy, preparations for the next round of state assembly polls and various ongoing organisational activities will be discussed in the meeting which is also serving as a stock-taking exercise for leaders who are engaged in organisational works round the year, party sources have said.

Various groups of leaders, including Union ministers, have also been roped in to further strengthen the party's presence, especially in places where it lost in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and is eying victory in 2024.

Some electorally important states, including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, besides Tripura and Chhattisgarh, are scheduled to have assembly polls ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.