WHEN Nitin Gadkari entered the sprawling 92-acre Omax City named as Kushabhau Thakre Gram, he was welcomed by enthusiastic party workers in traditional attire. The venue that was completely eco-friendly had 25 VVIP tent houses, 200 VIP tent houses and 1050 general tent houses with hygienic facilities of drinking water, village foods, battery-run and bio-diesel vehicles, bullock carts and more than 200 bicycles for transport.
The Kushabhau Thakre Gram was made to appear like a Malwi village. The main hall where the national executive meeting held was made up of plywood reinforced with a layer of jute and mud and thatch with hay, giving it a rustic look. There were ducks wandering around, tethered goats and Vanvasi women making bajra and jowar chapattis on open fire.
The Indian breed cows and the rural typical paintings of Madhya Pradesh were giving a dazzling look to each hall, tent and Laxmi Mandap meant for desi bhojan. The food was prepared under the guidance of no less than the wife of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, wife of local MLA and Minister for Industries Kailash Vijayvargiya and seven-time Indore MP Sumitra Mahajan. The women delegates stayed in the 111 flats that were constructed inside the venue.
Tents, drainage, electricity, water-all were managed by the party workers in a disciplined manner. More than 100 party workers were moving around the venue all the time for the internal security as police also had a strict vigilance over the venue. On the both sides of the road the delegates were enjoying buta, chana, peanuts, guava, fresh fruit juices and what not. In the late evening there were cultural functions and in one of these functions, Nitin Gadkari himself mesmerised the audiences by singing the old Bollywood hit song, Zindgi kaisi yeh paheli hain. Of course the media could not hesitate to highlight the village life that was adopted at the BJP meet with a Swadeshi model. An attractive exhibition was held there on Antyodaya concept, where the development works and service projects done by different organisations were highlighted. Nitin Gadkari’s organisation, Purti, also showcased its activities, through which lot of farmers and backward people are getting benefits.
In its council meet, the party passed resolutions on internal security and price rise. There were discussions on the Report of Ranganath Misra Commission and Copenhagen and Dr Murli Manohar Joshi spoke in detail about it. Rajnath Singh described the chair of BJP chief as the seat of King Vikrmaditya-anyone can deliver justice who sits on it. Shri Singh requested the party workers to have faith in the party leadership and hold on the ideology of the party. The meet also amended the constitution of the party to increase the office-bearers from 27 to 36. There would be three more general secretaries, in addition to seven (earlier) including general secretary organisation. There would be three more vice presidents of the party in addition to earlier nine. Also there would be three more secretaries in addition to earlier 12. The post of joint secretary organisation has been abolished. Senior BJP leader LK Advani made his concluding remark on the last day of the meet.
I am proud to be a karyakarta
In his first presidential address BJP chief Nitin Gadkari said: “BJP has bestowed on somebody who is basically a karyakarta. I do not have a pedigreed surname. I do not belong to a political family. I was born in an ordinary family in Nagpur. I learnt my first lesson in patriotism and social service in RSS and ABVP. I regard my becoming the party’s all-India president as a tribute to the BJP’s proud tradition of being a party of karyakartas. BJP is not a party controlled by a family or a dynasty and this is what distinguishes the BJP from most political parties in India.” Shri Gadkari called on the party men to make BJP a better instrument of nation-building and said that nationalism is our inspiration, development of good governance for Antyodaya, our ultimate goal.
Centre of gravity shifting from West to Asia
Shri Gadkari opined that the centre of gravity of the world economic order is irreversibly shifting from the West to Asia. Undoubtedly, China has been a big beneficiary of this change. But he said that India also can quickly emerge as a major global power and is now being recognised by more and more people around the world. Stating that the year 2010 is not 1962, he stressed the need for a common national approach to strategic issues. Shri Gadkari demanded that the government should hold appropriate consultations with the Opposition on a strategic approach to Indo-China relations. BJP believes that China will also appreciate the fact that 2010 is not 1962.
Vote-bank politics lead threat to internal security
The BJP chief warned that utmost vigilance and more effective strategies are needed to tackle the twin threats, namely, jehadi terrorism and Naxalism. He added that the bomb blast in Pune is a stark reminder of the fact that pampering of suspected terrorists nullifies the element of deterrence of our internal security regime.
Some Congress leaders have converted suspected dens of terrorists as places of political pilgrimage. Repeated visits of politicians to those areas have emboldened the enemies of the nation. In this backdrop, when terror stalks India, not talking with Pakistan is a legitimate diplomatic option.
Unchecked price rise
The BJP chief squarely blamed the Prime Minister and Congress chief for government’s failure to reverse the price rise. He pointed out that a huge commodity exchange scam has added to the price rise.
