• Thursday, March 28, 2024

HEADLINE STORY

Modi sets 2024 poll ball rolling with dig at opposition on BJP foundation day: ‘Very desperate’

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi virtually addresses the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentary party meeting on the occasion of the party’s 44th foundation day in New Delhi on Thursday, April 6, 2023. (ANI Photo/Shrikant Singh)

By: Shubham Ghosh

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (6) set the tone for the 2024 parliamentary elections by taking a strong dig at the opposition at an event to mark his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) 44th foundation day.

He said the opposition parties only talk about social justice but it is the BJP which works for helping each Indian.

Modi said the BJP should not be complacent despite being the world’s biggest political party, adding that people have already started saying that no one can defeat the saffron party in the 2024 elections.

“This is true, but as BJP workers we have to win the heart of every citizen of the country,” Modi said while addressing party leaders and workers.

He also said that the opposition had become “very desperate”, referring to the slogan of “Modi Teri Kabr Khudegi” (Modi, your grave will be dug) which was chanted by members of the Indian National Congress at a recent protest over a police case against one of its leaders.

“These people with a ‘baadshahi’ (feudal) mindset treated others, especially the poor and deprived, as slaves,” Modi said.

The prime minister said the BJP is determined to fight corruption, nepotism and law and order challenges and that it draws inspiration from Lord Hanuman, the Hindu god who is revered for qualities such as devotion, strength and courage.

Thursday also marked Hanuman Jayanti, the birthday of the monkey god, and celebrations were being held at various corners of India.

“Today India, like Lord Hanuman, is much more prepared in fighting challenges. Our party takes inspiration from Hanumanji. We can be tough at times like Lord Hanuman, but we are also compassionate and humble,” Modi said.

Modi also said that the BJP has brought a paradigm shift in Indian politics by “ending 800 years of slavery” in 2014 when it came to power with full majority for the first time. The party produced an even better show in the 2019 general elections and is now aiming for the third successive term.

He also urged the party workers to actively participate in the week-long social harmony campaign that the party has planned from April 6 to 14, which marks the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar, one of India’s iconic Dalit leaders.

Modi’s speech was screened at a million places across the country, where BJP leaders, office bearers and workers gathered to listen to him.

The BJP’s national president, JP Nadda, also raised the flag at the party headquarters in New Delhi and addressed the party workers.

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