National Executive Meeting
December 23, 2002 [Parliament Annexe,
New Delhi]
BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY
National Executive Meeting
Presidential Address
By
Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu
New Delhi - 23.12. 2002
Adaraneeya Shri Atalji, Adaraneeya
Shri Advaniji, my dear colleagues in the National Executive,
I extend a very warm welcome to
all of you at this important meeting of our Party National Executive. It
is a meeting to rejoice, to celebrate - and to re-dedicate ourselves to
the tasks ahead.
Just look at the two events that
flank our two-day meeting. Yesterday we rejoiced at the swearing in of
Shri Narendrabhai Modi in Gandhinagar as the Chief Minister after a spectacular
victory, which gave our Party a renewed mandate in the just-concluded elections
to the Gujarat Legislative Assembly.
And day after tomorrow we will celebrate
the 78th birthday of our beloved leader and Prime Minister, Shri Atalji.
It is a very special day for us-indeed, for all the people of India. In
Shri Atalji we have a mahapurush leading this mahaan nation. His wisdom,
sagacity, experience and his personal quality of carrying people of all
shades along are priceless assets for our Party and our Nation.
Shri Atalji, the founder of our
Party and the fountain of inspiration for all of us, has always been very
dear to us, very special to us. And we too -- all the lakhs of our Party
karyakartas - claim a special place in his heart. After all, Shri Atalji
himself was also a karyakarta like all of us - hardworking, dedicated and
fully committed to the cause of the Party and Nation. Hence, it is with
immense love that I, on behalf of all of you, and on behalf of all the
members of this great Party extend our heartiest felicitations to Shri
Atalji on his birthday.
We have decided to celebrate his
birthday - this year and in future - as Vikas Divas or Development Day.
We will use this occasion to spread his great message - Let us make India
a Developed Nation by following the mantra of "Vikas, Teji se Vikas, Santulit
Vikas aur Sab ka Vikas".
For this, I have asked the General
Secretaries to draw up a programme from December 25 to January 12, which
is Swami Vivekananda Jayanti. I would like Members of the Executive to
give their ideas and suggestions to make this programme a success.
Let us replicate the Gujarat Spirit
Friends, I now turn to the other
cause of our rejoicing. Today, on behalf of all of you and on behalf of
millions of workers and supporters of the BJP, I extend the heartiest of
congratulations to Shri Narendrabhai, Shri Keshubhai, Shri Rajendra Singh
Rana and all our dear colleagues in the Gujarat unit for securing a historic
victory for the Party in the Assembly elections. Your victory has electrified
the atmosphere in the country and energized the rank and file of our Party
everywhere. Today I also applaud the work of Shri Arun Jaitley, Shri Sanjaybhai
Joshi, Shri Ramdas Agarwal and Shri Naqvi at the Party headquarters who
lent excellent support to the Gujarat team. The entire Party worked as
a team.
Today, I must also express our grateful
appreciation of the guidance we received from Shri Advaniji throughout
the Gujarat campaign, in which he himself participated tirelessly. The
Prime Minister addressed four very useful meetings in the four regions.
A number of Central Ministers and other Party leaders participated actively
in the campaign. The campaign management, media and publicity management,
logistics management - all this was conducted in a highly professional
manner.
Hence, if anybody asks us whether
we would repeat the Gujarat 'experiment' elsewhere, our answer should be:
"Yes, we shall replicate our Gujarat 'experience' everywhere, because in
Gujarat we have again proved to ourselves that collective work is the key
to success."
Modi versus Sonia - It was an unequal
contest
Today, my very special applause
is reserved for Shri Narendrabhai, who fought like a lion in the face of
unprecedented calumny against him and our Party, and made, on counting
day, his opponents run for cover. This election was not a Modi vs. Vaghela
contest. The Congress Party and the Leftist Lobby made it into a Modi vs.
Sonia contest. The results have shown what an unequal bout it was.
Friends, this election will be remembered
not only for the nature and scale of our victory, but also for the viciousness
of the anti-BJP, anti-Hindutva and - if I have to call a spade a spade
- anti-Hindu campaign conducted by the Congress and the Communists before,
during and, sadly, even after the polls. The Congress President took the
lead by making many highly objectionable pronouncements, perhaps the most
offensive and outlandish of which was her charge that Gujarat, the land
of Gandhi, was turning into the land of Godse! This was a slur on the asmita
and atma-gaurav of the people of Gujarat, forcing Shri Narendra Modi to
launch his Gaurav Yatra. Today the whole world knows what the response
of the people of Gujarat to this Yatra was.
The outcome of this election has
demolished the myth that the Congress is getting revived on account of
its leadership.
The real significance of the Gujarat
mandate
It is sad to say the least that
the Congress party has learnt no lessons from its debacle in Gujarat. Consider
the Congress President's flare-up, after five days of stunned silence,
that the BJP won in Gujarat by "spreading poison". Other Congress leaders
have said that we won by playing the politics of "threats and intimidation".
Rather than accepting defeat gracefully, Congress leaders have again resorted
to falsehood, thereby again insulting the people of Gujarat. That there
was a 90 per cent turnout of minorities in a violence-free election disproves
their bogus allegation.
The message that flowed from a record
turnout of 62 per cent of the people of Gujarat is sought to be distorted
by the vanquished and frustrated political forces who never had any clue
as to what was at stake in Gujarat elections. As the Gujarat election process
peaked, the national perception crystallized the central issues as terrorism
and extremism and political opportunism. Our political adversaries were
rightly recognised as those willing to compromise on national interests
for short-term votebank considerations. The people of this country had
been watching in anguish as the country was being bled by terrorists and
extremist forces over the last twenty years. Gujarat elections offered
an opportunity to effectively articulate their concerns on these larger
issues and it was the BJP that was overwhelmingly seen by the people of
Gujarat as a Party that understood their anguish and concerns, and was
determined to address with firmness and farsightedness.
The voters of Gujarat reposed their
faith in the BJP yet again because the choice before them was very clear.
It was between the forces of nationalism and the forces of pseudo-secularism.
Gujarat was hence not a mere political victory for BJP, but it was a mandate
for the ideology that has always held the nation's interest as its core
strength.
We shall make Gujarat an 'Aadarsh
Pradesh'
Today I have a message for our Party
colleagues in Gujarat. The elections are now behind us and our tasks and
duties are before us. Not only the people of Gujarat, but the people all
over the country, will keenly watch how our Government will perform. As
before, we should - and I am sure we will - prove all our opponents wrong.
I congratulate Shri Narendra Modi for unambiguously declaring, both before
and after the elections, that he stands for the unity, dignity, welfare
and development of all the five crore people of Gujarat, without any distinction
or discrimination.
The BJP assures one and all that
our practice shall be true to our motto -- "Justice for All and Appeasement
of None", in contrast to the Congress party's long record of "Appeasement
of Minorityism and Injustice for Minorities". I urge our minority brethren
to see through this cynical game, shun the Congress and other pseudo-secular
parties everywhere, and forge a new equation of mutual understanding with
the BJP to further the cause of national integration, nation building,
and their own welfare. Vote bank politics has done incalculable damage
to the minorities and it is time they realized it.
Our Party has strongly and unequivocally
condemned the violence, both Godhra and post-Godhra. The State Government
did its best to contain the situation. There can be no justification for
shedding the blood of innocent people, irrespective of the caste or community
they belong to, in a civilized society.
I wish to assure the people of our
country on one more score. We are determined to make Gujarat a Model State,
an Adarsh Pradesh, free of fear, full of opportunities, a State whose economy
will be put on a track of rapid growth, and in which the fruits of development
will reach all its people fairly, but especially to the poor and the marginalized
of all communities. I have full confidence that this will happen because
the people of Gujarat are hardworking and entrepreneurial.
'Vijay Parv' and the tasks it imposes
on us
Friends, from one victory it is
time to march towards many victories. If Goa signified a turnaround, Gujarat
marked the beginning of "Vijay Parv" as our Hon'ble Prime Minister has
so aptly described it. This Parv will see our Party's victory in many States
which are going to the polls in 2003, and it will be crowned by the BJP
winning a bigger mandate, in the 2004 Parliamentary elections.
In Gujarat, we have scored a hat
trick - by winning consecutively in 1995, 1998 and 2002. Similarly, we
shall score a hat trick at the Centre by winning in 1998, 1999 and 2004.
I have defined our target as 300 seats for the BJP in the next Lok Sabha
elections. I did not say so as a wild guestimate. I always believed that
one day our Nation would travel on the path of the ideology that has all
along been guiding us and that moment of reckoning is not very far. But
to make that tryst with destiny, we have to gear ourselves up and get our
act together.
Right now, our immediate task is
to gear up for the forthcoming Assembly elections in nine States. Wherever
the Congress is in harness in these States, its defeat is a certainty,
a writing on the wall. The by-elections in Rajasthan and Assam are a barometer
to the mood and mind of the people. Hence, my first appeal to all of you
is to plunge headlong into preparations for the coming Assembly elections,
leaving nothing to chance and attending to every single detail well in
advance. Our thrust should be on three main areas:
1: Campaign against the non-performance
of Congress governments and in-fighting in the Congress party
We must begin by mounting a powerful
people's campaign against the non-performance, misrule, inefficiency, corruption,
worsening law and order situation and non-fulfillment of promises, which
is in evidence everywhere in Congress-ruled States. We must also expose
how the Congress leaders are engrossed more in in-fighting and power struggles
than in the development of their States and the welfare of their people.
Examples abound. Both in MP and
Rajasthan, poor people are condemned to be victims of hunger and starvation,
even though the Centre has provided more than adequate amount of foodgrains.
That hunger-related deaths have taken place in the midst of plenty in Madhya
Pradesh and Rajasthan should make the head of every Congressman hang in
shame. It is the responsibility of the State Governments to ensure proper
implementation of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana, which is the most comprehensive
and cheapest ever food security scheme for the poorest five crore people
in our country, and the Food for Work Programme incorporated into the Sampoorna
Rozgar Yojana. However, Congress governments are showing shocking apathy
in implementing them.
Atrocities against women, Dalits
and other weaker sections have come to be a regular feature in States under
the care of Congress Governments. In Jammu & Kashmir, Congress is a
party to unacceptable compromises by releasing terrorists.
We see that in MP, the Chief Minister
and the Deputy Chief Minister are at loggerheads. In Rajasthan, people
are thoroughly disillusioned with the non-performance of the Congress Government.
In Karnataka, allowing Veerappan to roam, kidnap and kill freely is an
example of the State Government's total incompetence. In Kerala, the Government
has no money even to pay employees' salaries. Yet, the former Chief Minister
and the present Chief Minster are involved in an ugly battle, thus paralyzing
the State administration. In Maharashtra, the PCC president regularly fires
salvos against his own government - both against the Chief Minister and
the NCP, which is an alliance partner. In Assam, the Chief Minister does
not seem to be in command at all.
In Chhattisgarh, a former Congress
Chief Minister is openly speaking out against the Chief Minister, declaring
that this is the most corrupt government he has ever seen. Meanwhile, the
Chief Minister is practicing the politics of manipulation and has become
infamous for the persecution of the Opposition. Dissatisfaction and dissent
is fast brewing in Punjab. The talk of the town in Punjab is that the Congress
has a three-point agenda - Badli, Badla and Badal. The Delhi Government
has only a one-point agenda: that of forgetting its responsibilities and
accusing the Centre everyday for everything.
The deception and double standards
of the Congress party are also evident in providing free power before elections
in Punjab and giving no power after elections. Now the same party is promising
free power in Andhra Pradesh.
Our Party workers must also highlight
how the Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh and Punjab, just to divert people's
attention from the non-performance of their own governments, resorted to
the most undignified acts of gimmickry in Delhi by holding dharnas and
courting arrests in front of the Prime Minister's residence. Never in the
history of independent India has such disrespect to the office of the Prime
Minister been shown by Chief Ministers. This demonstrates the depth of
degeneration in the Congress party's culture.
Our Party workers must seek to emulate
the excellent work done by the State BJP Units of Rajasthan and Jharkhand
where the party comprehensively won the recent bye-elections. I compliment
the State President and other leaders of the party in both states.
2: Campaign against pseudo-secularism
and our opponents' indifference to threats to India's national security
Friends, I have said it before and
I say it again today. There is no need to be apologetic about our ideology
of Cultural Nationalism, nor about our firm commitment to the common agenda
of the National Democratic Alliance. Ek Haath Mein BJP Ka Jhanda, Doosre
Haath Mein NDA Agenda - that is our line.
We should firmly expose our adversaries'
politics of defaming our Party and our ideology, and of compromising on
issues that weaken national security. Thus, our Party should campaign for
a an effective nationwide law against conversion by fraudulent means. This
is not merely an issue that legitimately agitates all Hindus, but it is
closely linked to the interests of national integration, national security
and social cohesion. Everybody should understand that conversions by fraudulent
means are not tolerated in any country. Hence, they cannot be justified
under a perverse definition of secularism. The Party has to mobilize strong
public opinion to ensure that all State governments pass this law.
I would like to urge the Government
to take early steps for scrapping the IMDT in Assam, which has failed to
achieve the purpose. Illegal and large-scale influx of Bngladeshis into
India is not a Hindu-Muslim question but one that is directly linked to
our national unity and national security and national economy. We cannot
be unmindful of the growing presence of Al-Qaida in Bangladesh, its links
to the ISI, and their sinister designs against India, both in the short-term
and long-term.
POTA needs to be effectively used
to contain terrorism. The turn of events in Jammu & Kashmir should
be an eye opener. Despite the Congress-PDP combine's overtures towards
forces speaking for those believing in terrorism, one PDP legislator was
killed.
The entire country is relieved at
the judgement of the POTA court against the accused in the Black December
terrorist attack on Parliament. It is not surprising that voices of protest
are being heard from divisive and some pseudo-secular forces. It is amazing
that we have leaders and parties who build defences for conspirators involved
in this anti-national attack on Parliament. I am at a loss to understand
as to how there could be human rights for terrorists who believe in killing
innocent people. There cannot be progress without peace. And we cannot
have peace in an environment of social tensions, extremism, etc. Terrorism
is a challenge that needs to be squarely addressed and that is the message
of Gujarat. Terrorism spares none--not innocents, not those who oppose
it and certainly not those who are soft on it.
Our Party workers should strongly
and unapologetically defend the NCERT's effort to remove the distortions
in our school textbooks, introduced in the past by Communist and pseudo-secular
intellectuals.
The Gujarat message is loud and
clear. The message is that in the name of politically motivated secularism,
the countrymen are not willing any more to tolerate either the Hindu-bashing
or the double standards being resorted to by certain political parties.
For us development is the mantra and hence we believe in ushering in prosperity
in an atmosphere of peace.
Today, I would also like to make
an appeal to those who speak in the name of Hindutva but whose pronouncements
sometimes sound as if they are only reacting to the extremism and intolerance
that has taken roots across the border. Hindutva is a noble and elevating
concept and as the Supreme Court has rightly declared. The BJP is firm
in its belief that Hindutva and extremism cannot go together, Hindutva
and intolerance cannot go together. The Supreme Court has in the context
stated : "Thus it cannot be doubted, particularly in view of the constitutional
bench decision of this court that the words 'Hinduism' and 'Hindutava'
are not necessary understood and construed narrowly, centred only to the
strict Hindu religious practices unrelated to the culture and ethics of
the people of India, the way of life of the Indian people .................
considering the terms "Hinduism" or "Hindutava" per se as depicting hostility,
enmity or intolerance towards other religious faiths or professing communalism,
proceeds from improper appreciation and perception of the true meaning
of these expressions emerging from a detailed discussion in the earlier
authorities of this court."
3: Campaign for highlighting the
landmark achievements and unique initiatives of the NDA Government
We are indeed happy that under the
able leadership of our beloved Prime Minister, the Government rose to the
occasion and effectively addressed the problem of drought in several parts
of the country. The Government has also taken concrete initiatives in the
direction of some far reaching outcomes as in the case of linking of rivers.
A Task Force under an able person has already been set up. This long awaited
Development project is the crystallization of the will of the nation. Linking
of rivers is yet another vindication of our commitment to `Knit India'
together. Rapid progress on the Golden Quadrilateral part of the national
highway project is being hailed all over the country and abroad. Setting
up of Rs.17,000 crore Special Railway Safety Fund, launching of Rs.15,000-crore
National Rail Vikas Yojana for strengthening the high density rail network
and connectivity with Ports are some of the biggest initiatives since Independence
for the development of the long-neglected railway infrastructure. At the
same time, I urge the NDA Government to take similar big initiatives in
the welfare sector. There is a need to expand the scope of the Comprehensive
Crop Insurance Scheme to cover more crops, more areas and more farmers.
Three crore Kisan Credit Cards have already been issued and I urge the
Government to ensure coverage of all eligible farmers by March 2004. Raja
Rajeswari, Bhagya Shree, Ashray Beema Yojana need to be further popularized.
BJP workers have to take active interest in mobilizing and involving the
people in these schemes. The Government should also focus attention on
the mobilization of additional resources and proper implementation of Pradhan
Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana, a novel project for enhancing rural road connectivity.
The Government should come out at
the earliest with a new Constitutional amendment to empower Panchayati
Raj and local bodies with effective financial and administrative powers.
Friends, the Central Government
has also succeeded in getting the nod of the Parliament for some historic
Bills. These include those cracking down heavily on defaulters of bank
loans, ensuring the right to information, conferring the right to education
on the future hope of our country, as also those relating to electoral
reforms and environmental protection. We are proud that we have been able
to create a situation in which there is no waiting list, queue, shortage
or black market, be it telephone connection, gas connection, cement, sugar
or food grains. What I am trying to highlight is that we have done enough
to stake claim to the confidence of the people. At the same time there
is much more still to be done and so we should never be complacent.
Implement the tasks mandated in
Delhi Sankalp
Friends, the three-pronged campaign
effort that I have outlined above is externally directed. But we also need
to intensify another effort, which should be internally directed. And this
is the imperative to strengthen our organization and remove the shortcomings
in the functioning of our various State units, district units, and local
units. The tasks involved in this regard are set forth in an elaborate
manner in the Delhi Sankalp, which we adopted at the National Council meeting
in August. I do not wish to reiterate them.
However, the very fact that I am
referring to this issue again shows that addressing it - and redressing
the maladies in the organization - is critical for achieving our immediate-term
and long-term objectives. The serious developments in the legislature Party
in UP recently - and similar developments in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka
earlier -- have deeply disappointed and distressed our karyakartas as well
our supporters. I call upon the Party cadres to always bear in mind that
we are a Party with a Difference. Every leader in the Party shall always
be guided by the fact that their behaviour has a bearing on the Party.
I wish to make it very clear that the Party will come down very heavily
against those crossing the Lakshman Rekha.
I, along with the General Secretaries
and other office-bearers, have begun the massive exercise of reaching out
to the Party workers throughout the country. We have has successful Zonal
conferences, direct interaction with District Presidents and State Council
meetings as part of the effort to widen our social and political base and
to further energise the organization. At this juncture I am happy to state
that Gaon Chalo Abhiyan (Go to Villages) has received tremendous response.
We need to cover every village in every region before the next round of
elections. I am also happy to acknowledge that coordination between the
Government and the Party, the Party and the Cadres and the Cadres and the
people have significantly improved and it shall provide necessary momentum
for further action. As a result of these efforts, our workers have got
galvanized all over the country.
Friends, I would like to make it
clear that it is not enough to harp on the failures of our opponents. You
may also recall that in the last National Council meeting, soon after assuming
the Presidentship of the party, I suggested a mid-term appraisal of the
performance of the Central Government, so that necessary corrective measures
could be taken as warranted. I have also underscored the need for introspection
at all levels with a view to improve the health of the Party. I have also
mentioned that as a Party we have only traveled half way and have miles
to go still. It is necessary for all of us to remember that every individual,
institution and political party has to have the necessary ability and honesty
to identify and address shortcomings for a focused, well defined and productive
journey ahead. I am happy to say that the introspection and evaluation
efforts put in by the Party and the Government have begun to yield dividends.
We need to carry it forward with enhanced vigour and commitment to achieve
our goals.
I would like to once again reiterate
that we have only traveled halfway. Our destination is still ahead.
Thank you.
Vande Mataram.
