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Obstruction and obfuscation have become hallmark of opposition: BJP

January 07, 2017 00:47 IST

Describing the Congress and other rival parties as "anti-people and anti-democracy", the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday hailed the Modi government, saying 2016 was the "dawn of a new era" with a number of transformative decisions in the spheres of national security, self-pride, probity and the poor's welfare.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi being garlanded as BJP President Amit Shah and senior party leaders LK Advani, MM Joshi, Ananth Kumar, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, TC Gehlot and others applaud at the party's National Executive Meeting in New Delhi on Friday. Photographs: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo

The political resolution passed at the party's national executive claimed that the Modi government has created a new "history" in the direction of the poor's welfare with its bold initiatives.

Proposed by Union Home Minister and former party chief Rajnath Singh, the resolution also hit out at the opposiiton, saying "obstruction and obfuscation" have become their hallmark while the BJP has notched up one electoral victory after another which shows popular support for demonetisation.

Calling Modi's policies "transformative", it promised that the new year would bring more prosperity and progress.

The resolution also dwelt at length in attacking West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who has emerged as a trenchant critics of the Centre.

Attacking her government for its "failure" in safeguarding the "law-abiding majority community", the resolution cited the Dhulagarh riots as its "most glaring example" as rioters went about torching houses and shouting slogans like 'Pakistan zindabad'.

"The behaviour of the parties led by the Congress in stalling the entire session of Parliament betrays their scant respect for democratic institutions. Obstruction and obfuscation has become the hallmark of the opposition politics in the country," it said.

The national executive also backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "path-breaking" electoral reform initiatives, including proposal for holding simultaneous polls to central and state legislatures, and asserted that together with other important reforms it would pave the way for cleaner and healthier electoral practises.

The resolution alleged attacks on BJP's workers have increased in Bengal and the Left-ruled Kerala.

The recent attacks on BJP headquarters in Kolkata and scores of other places in Bengal point to the extreme and violent form of political intolerance practised by the ruling TMC, it alleged.

"The red terror in Kerala continues to rob the lives of dedicated karyakartas (members), the latest victim being Radhakrishnan. It is a sad commentary on the bureaucracy and law and order machinery that they too seem to have become mute spectators while lawlessness and crime perpetrates.

"Extreme appeasement politics of the governments in the states have led to sever communal tension and strife in these states," it said.

Referring to the coming five state polls, the resolution said the BJP views them as an opportunity to retain or regain power in all the states including Manipur. "People of the country are yearning to follow PM Modiji's development politics."

"We are here not merely for reform. Reform is good, but it is largely about tinkering the existing system. PM Modi's vision is transformative," it claimed.

The resolution said the government took a number of transformative decisions in the spheres of national security, self-pride, prosperity, probity and the poor's welfare.

IMAGE: PM Modi, Amit Shah, LK Advani and Arun Jaitley at the meeting.

"The Modi government has created a new history in the direction of the poor's welfare with its bold initiatives."

Referring to surgical strikes, it said the move marked the end of an era in which India was seen as a soft state. Maximum number of terrorists were killed in 2015-16 and the Maoism was also under control.

The surgical strikes were executed with utmost precision and showed to the world that India is led by a government today that is committed to securing its borders and interests with determination and will power.

"We salute our brave soldiers for valiantly fighting and laying down their lives to secure our borders and honour. That the strikes have had the required effect on our neighbour can be gauged from the fact that there is near normal silence on the Indo-Pak border in the last few weeks and also the initiative taken by Pakistan to call for DGMO level talks between the two countries," it claimed.

India has always demonstrated its urge and desire for peaceful and friendly relations with all its neighbours including Pakistan, it said and cited Modi's 'Together We Grow' plank for the neighbours.

"The surgical strikes and the total rejection of the separatist agenda by the people and governments of Jammu and Kashmir, and the Centre are a categorical assertion to Pakistan that its ulterior designs shall never succeed and the government led by Modi will continue to demonstrate zero tolerance for terrorism.

"It reserves every right to respond to such threats in an appropriate and out-of-the-box manner in future also," the BJP said.

Noting that the party is celebrating the birth centenary of its ideologue Deendayal Upadhyay, the resolution said the Modi government has taken up countless initiatives for the welfare of the poor in line with his 'antyodaya' (welfare of the last man).

Icing on the cake, it said, was Modi's new year eve address in which he offered several incentives for urban and rural poor, farmers, pregnant women, small and medium industries and senior citizens among others.

"These new incentives are going to not only benefit the poor and marginalised but also various other segments of the society by kick-starting the economy in a big way," it said.

Referring to the party's maiden win in Assam and decent show in other state elections, the resolution also highlighted BJP's victory in local polls held after demonetisation and said, "It is not an overstatement to claim that the results are a vindication of the unqualified popular support to the demonetisation programme." 

The national executive bemoans the silence of the larger public institutions like media and intelligentsia over the Fascist oppression of fundamental political rights in West Bengal and Kerala, as per the political resolution passed in the meeting.

"Their silence is baffling even when their own colleagues are being subjected to violation of their fundamental rights like free speech etc. The national executive wishes (to) remind the so-called torchbearers of human rights and civil liberties that in such matters their silence tantamount to complicity only.

"The national executive expresses sympathy for the people affected by communal and political violence in these states.In its history of several decades the BJP has faced such political vandalism several times before and knows how to tackle it in a democratic manner. The national executive warns that it would intensify democratic protest programs to awaken people to the misrule of the governments in Bengal and Kerala," it said.

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