BJP Presidential Speech at BJP National Executive Meeting at Guwahati (Assam)
- by Shri Nitin Gadkari , BJP -

Guwahati, Saturday, 08 January 2011

The entire speech is here :

Respected Advaniji, senior colleagues on the dais and all my colleagues in the National Executive of the Party,

At the outset, while welcoming you on this legendary land of Pragjyotishpur, let me wish every one of you a happy 2011. We are in the eastern part of our country. This is the land of the rising sun. I believe that the sun that came up on the first day of the new calendar year has brought in new hopes and new aspirations for all our countrymen.

Sixty Years of Our Journey

Friends, the dawn of new year reminds me of the fact that this year marks the completion of sixty years of our journey in Indian politics as a political party. Six decades before in 1951, when Bharatiya Jana Sangh emerged on the political horizons of India many had refused to take it seriously. Thanks to the sacrifices of our great leaders like Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee and Deen Dayal Upadhyay, we have created a place of our own in Indian polity. The thought given by these great leaders, the principles of organisational functioning laid down by them and the ideals that they have set have always been the mainstays of our functional philosophy. At the outset, I offer my Pranams to the memories of these heroes.

At this juncture, let me also appeal you to observe 21st October, the Foundation Day of Jan Sangh as a Day of Gratitude. I appeal all our State Units to organise Grand Felicitations to those who are working with us since 1951. We have to remember that these individuals have given our Party a solid organisational base that has enabled us to travel this long.

North East: A Land of Inspiring Heroes

We are here on the banks of Mahabahu Brahmaputra and hence before I dwell further, let me pay my respects to all those great suns and daughters of our motherland who are from North East India in general and Assam in particular. On the banks of Mahabahu Brahmaputra, under the shower of the blessings of Ma Kamakhya, let me first of all pay my respects to Mahapurush Srimanta Shankardev, whose contribution to the rich cultural and spiritual heritage of Assam is just unparalleled. Remember, this is the land of Lachit Burphukan, whose words “dekhat se mama dangor na hoi” have become immortal was the great warrior who for long prevented the advent of foreign invaders in Assam. From freedom fighters like Kanaklata Baruah to Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi, this land has produced several great heroes whose contributions, the nation can never forget. We all take pride in the rich heritage of the entire North -East India.

Friends, let me tell you that the North East has been a land of great warriors, social reformers, development activists, artists and sportspersons. How can one forget the pioneering work of Khuang Chera of Mizoram, Deing Ering of Arunachal Pradesh, Rani Ma Gaidinglu of Nagaland, Rajkumar Tikendrajeet of Manipur, Tirath Singh, Thugan Sangma and Kieng Nagbah of Meghalaya and Jiten Pal of Tripura? This land has produced several great heroes and enriched India’s glorious past. Even at the time of Kargil War, several sons and daughters of Bharatmata from this region made supreme sacrifice for the Nation. From Captain Jintu Gogoi of Assam to Captain Kezhakuo Kenguriise, there were many martyrs from this region. We pay our respects to all these heroes.

We are all aware that many sportspersons from the North - East have earned several medals for India in the recently held Commonwealth Games as well as in the Asiad and the Bharatiya Janata Party takes pride in their achievements.

BJP in the North - East

Friends, let me tell you that when earlier the Jan Sangh and later the BJP had started work in the North - East the situation was extremely difficult. But the North East India always had a place of prominence in our scheme of things. At this occasion we also must remember all those whose pioneering efforts strengthened the Party organisation in this region. The galaxy of our senior leaders in the past includes Hokishe Sema and N.C. Jheliang from Nagaland, Shahid Shyam Hari Sharma from Tripura and Ramesh Ji Mishra from Assam. Several of our leaders like Shahid Mashumangal Sharma from Manipur and Jayant Dutta of Assam became martyrs while working for the Party and the ideological movement. Recently Bansidhar Soni ji who had worked here left this world and we pay our homage to him. While in Assam, we just cannot forget the contributions of Party functionaries like Lakhidhar Gohain and above all our veteran leader Padmanabh Ji Acharya. Padmanabh ji has recently completed 80 years of his life and he still continues to be active. I offer my respects to him and all those who have contributed in building Party organisation in this region.

In Assam, thirty years before, although we were not a big force, we had supported the Assam movement against Bangaladeshi infiltrators because it has been our conviction that the people of Assam have been fighting for the unity and integrity of the entire nation. Let me remind you that it is this very land of Assam who lost several of her young sons and daughters in the historic Assam Movement on the issue of infiltration of Bangladeshis in early 1980s. Many young activists courageously faced bullets and laid their lives for protecting the sovereignty of our great Bharatmata. Thanks to their supreme sacrifice, we are in a position to hold this meeting here today. I must also mention here that the BJP and the entire ideological movement of which we are a part has always stood for the cause of fighting the menace of silent invasion in Assam. While paying homage to those who sacrificed their lives in this struggle, I reiterate that no power on the earth can prevent us from detecting, deleting and deporting all those infiltrators who have encroached upon the blue hills and green valleys of this beautiful land. Like in Bihar I am sure in Assam too, people will give us a mandate for both Suraksha and Su Raj. I earnestly appeal to the people of Assam to give BJP a chance. Let me assure them that if we are given an opportunity, our government will not only prevent any further infiltration resolutely but also drive away all those who are not citizens of India and are staying here illegally.

Besides I would like to touch upon an important issue concerning 6 particular communities from Assam and share my concern about their development. These communities are—Moran, Motok, Koch-Rajbongshi, Tai-Ahom, Tea Tribes and Sutiya. These are all from Assam and we have been seeking Scheduled Tribe status for them for the last many years. I take this opportunity and reiterate our demand for granting ST status to all of them. BJP appeals both the state and central governments to take urgent steps in this regard without affecting the status of existing ST communities. BJP also pledges that should it come to power in the next Lok Sabha elections, it would vigorously follow-up on this demand.

Our Grand Performance in Bihar

Let me also tell you about the importance of our victory in Bihar. It certainly was not a small success. The strike rate of 89% is a historic feat in the annals of India’s electoral history. There are multiple factors that made this success possible and we must understand them. Our State leadership as well as all Karyakartas deserve all congratulations for this success. United Party Organisation, micro-management at the grass root’s level, right selection of candidates and above all the credibility that we have painstakingly earned on the front of Good Governance are some of the key factors. I congratulate all our senior leaders including Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi as well as State President Dr. C. P. Thakur for this historic victory. I must also put on record my appreciation for the leadership of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who has contributed greatly in this victory of NDA. After we had met at Patna in June last, many of our State units have achieved remarkable success in different elections. In Jammu and Kashmir, in the elections for Laddakh Autonomous Region, for the first time we have a representation with five of our candidates emerging victorious. In Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, people have reposed their faith in a big way in the BJP in local elections. In Kerala also we have increased our tally in local elections. Let me also share a sense of satisfaction over noteworthy electoral success achieved by our units in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh as well as Andaman Nicobar and Dadara Nagar Haveli.

UPA 2 : A Kingdom of Corruption

While we are certainly marching ahead but we just cannot afford to be complacent. The nation is facing one of the severest Crisis of Leadership and people of India are looking towards the BJP to provide leadership that will translate their aspirations into reality. The 20-month old rule of the UPA-2 has proved to be a disaster. Everyday, the nation is waking up to a new scam. From sports to civil supplies and telecommunication to civil aviation, UPA-2 has allowed every arena of governance to be exploited by scamsters. And while looters were emptying the government coffers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was standing guard with his eyes closed and perhaps, hands tied.

It is ironical that when the Congress was celebrating 125 years of its existence, the UPA was observing year 2010 as Year of Scams and Corruption. Practically, every month unveiled a new scam. Scams after scams made organisation of Commonwealth Games a subject of public ridicule. Thanks to the splendid performance of our sportspersons, as a nation; we could save some grace. Soon came the Adarsh Society scam. A Chief Minister who was brought in after the terrorists’ attack on Mumbai in November 2009 had to vacate his seat for a scam that showed how even security considerations were disregarded by ruling party bigwigs and bureaucrats. And the 2G scam was literally the height of it. The huge loss to the exchequer due to this Mother of all Scams is almost equal to the budget outlay of some states.

Let us remember that the magnitude of these scams is such that even agencies and departments of the government could not push them under the carpet. Judiciary also had to take their cognizance. All these scams are so very serious that they cannot be dubbed as propaganda by the opposition. They are real and now nobody can shield the criminals involved. Even after the unearthing of so many scams, UPA leaders are unabashedly talking of “zero tolerance to corruption”.

We have every reason to believe that these scams are not just systemic failures much less any kind of just aberrations. These scams are some kind of a planned loot of national coffers. The way the UPA government went ahead with the appointment of the present Chief Vigilance Commissioner overruling the objections raised by Smt. Sushma Swaraj, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, smacks of a particular design to provide systemic protection to all those who are corrupt. This is nothing but an attempt to subvert the system to suit personal designs. But recent revelations in the case of Bofors have served the purpose of reminding the UPA and one can never fool all the people all the time. Now that the Revenue Establishment has conclusively established that kickbacks were given and received, if this government is serious about probity and accountability, it should move the Supreme Court to have a Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed forthwith. Sermons, declaration of multi-point programmes, and empty appeals to political functionaries who are your own appointees will make no impact. What is required is a series of credible measures starting with a firm commitment to punishing the guilty. The rule of law is unambiguous. With prima facie evidence in hand, the law enforcing agencies must file an FIR. They have to arrest and interrogate the suspect, collect evidence and file charge sheet within a stipulated time frame. No body knows as to why this has not happened.

What people are asking the UPA are only few simple questions: Why are you shying away from JPC? What are you afraid of? From Tul Mohan Rams and Nagarwalas to Warren Andersons and Ottavio Quatrochis why all those guilty have always escaped punishment? These are not just episodes of corruption. These are also examples of how successive Congress governments have stabbed in the back of the people who elected them to protect their interests.

If the Prime Minister is so very confident that he is not guilty, why should he be so stubborn in opposing the legitimate demand of JPC? This stubbornness is reminiscent of the pre-emergency days. BJP condemns this approach and forewarns the government that this confrontationist approach will cost the government extremely dearly. It is this stubbornness that is to blame for the logjam in the Parliament. Not opposition but the government is squarely responsible for this logjam. The entire opposition is united on this issue and the sooner the government accepts our demand, the better for all.

Transparency and Accountability in Governance

We in the BJP are aware of the magnitude of the issue of corruption. In order to fight with corruption what is essentially required is the strong political will do overcome this crisis. Thanks to this political will, during the NDA regime we tried to limit the number of cabinet ministers in any State Government in order to prevent abuse of the position. We believe that we all have to strive to have a system that encourages people to observe the right ethical values in place. Through innovative and result oriented measures we have to work towards this end.

BJP understands that election related expenses are the fountainhead of this crisis. It was with a view to finding a solution to this that we had started a novel life -time fund-giving programme named as Aajeevan Sahayog Nidhi. We are happy that we have achieved considerable success in implementing this programme and at the same time launched another Vishesh Sahayog Nidhi to augment election-funds for the party in a transparent manner. Even in governance, our Governments are trying to bring in greater transparency and accountability in order to eradicate corruption. We have asked all our State governments to introduce e-tendering system and we are also discussing introduction of different measures for ensuring clean and corruption-free governance. I have requested Manohar Parrikar, former Chief Minister of Goa and convener of the Good Governance Cell to set up a Study Group to give recommendations in this regard. Let me take this opportunity to share with you that we are requesting all our State Governments to explore the possibility of establishing a Department of E-Governance with a view to bringing in greater transparency and accountability in governance. Let me reiterate our resolve not to spare the guilty. Our opponents can attempt to tarnish BJP but I am afraid, that will not help them varnish their image.

Terrorism: Poor Track Record of UPA

UPA’s track record on the front of fighting against terrorism is also extremely poor. On the Kashmir front, the interlocutors continue to be confused and unclear about their own task. There are no specific terms of reference laid down for them and hence their exercise has become rudderless. A similar rudderlessness prevails in tackling the Naxal issue. While we all in BJP and many of our Chief Ministers are consistently asking for a common strategy and concerted efforts to fight with the Naxalite menace, UPA is speaking in many voices on every terror related issue. Within the ruling party, there are elements who hobnob with the Naxals, pamper those who see India as an encroacher in Jammu and Kashmir and try to play with the sensibilities of majority community by blowing up the threat of peripheral groups to rake up the so called Hindu Terrorism.

Should we not expect some basic level of maturity from the UPA leaders? Are they not doing disservice to the cause of our war on terror by undermining the threat from one group and demonizing the other? Can some of the UPA leaders be so callous and irresponsible so as to deal with terrorism in a crass partisan manner their facts based on inconclusive investigations, even while sharing assessments with the foreign diplomats? All our countrymen are extremely concerned that the irresponsible utterances of some of the UPA leaders are bound to weaken India’s case and give a fillip to those from across the border. Unfortunately, UPA misses no opportunity of sending a wrong signal. When the entire nation is expecting the government to expedite the hanging of Afzal Guru, who has been convicted in the case of Attack on the Parliament, the UPA has set Shaukat Guru, Afzal Guru’s associate, in this case; free almost one year before he completes his jail term, for what they certify as “Good Conduct.” This is a case of utter disregard for public opinion. Is this not a manifestation of the government’s soft and unserious approach towards terrorism?

At this juncture, we demand that the government publish the entire data pertaining to terrorist attacks since 2004 and give details of the investigations completed, cases filed and conviction made of the guilty. The nation also seeks information about the relief and rehabilitation measures taken by the government for those who are victims of terror in one way or the other.

Failure in containing Price Rise

The last eighteen-month rule of UPA is the saga of failures. We have been fighting on the front of rising prices of essential commodities for the last about eighteen months. Instead of bringing the prices down, this government is adding to the list of commodities that are getting dearer and dearer. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet; Marcellus tells Horatio that, “There is something rotten in the State of Denmark.” Similarly, there is always something rotten in the UPA regime. Earlier, in spite of the Supreme Court reprimand, this government allowed food grains to rot and refused to distribute them to the hungry. Now, they are allowing imported onions to rot in ports while the Aam Adami is deprived of them even at a reasonable price. In the history of independent India, the UPA-2 will go as the costliest regime.

Our Vision for a Developed North- East

Whether is it is price rise or development, lack of seriousness in dealing with issues is common in this government’s approach.

There is a history to the callous approach of the Congress towards the North -East. For years, successive Congress governments at the centre as well as in this region looked at the North East as a ‘milching cow’. Rampant corruption here made the Congress politicians richer while the citizens here got precious little. In Assam today, the present State government has turned every govt. department into a fertile ground for corruption. In that respect, those who are ruling Assam continue to be inspired by those who are ruling in Delhi.

Friends, this region had to wait till the installation of the NDA government to have an independent department of North-East region. Thanks to Atal Behari Vajpayeeji’s government, a pool of non-lapsable funds for the development of this region was specially created. But during the last six years, this pool itself is remaining unutilized. Unfortunately, UPA at the centre and various Congress led governments in this region are suffering from myopia. NDA had provided a great opportunity through a successful cease-fire agreement in Nagaland. But even 14 years after the 1997 agreement, the UPA has failed to build upon this. There are absolutely no movements forward towards lasting peace and speedy construction of development infrastructure in any of the states of the North- East.

Temporary peace without any thoughtfully taken measures for winning the hearts of the people have led the central government nowhere. Whether it is Nagaland, Manipur or any other State where terrorism has caused havoc, mere suspension of confrontation on the ground is just not enough. The central government has to work with a clear and futuristic Vision for Development. Connectivity in every field has to increase manifold. Faster infrastructure development needs to take place in a big way. Economic Development needs to go hand in hand with emotional integration. For decades together, our brothers and sisters in the North-East have been denied opportunities for faster development. Let me tell them that in BJP they have a national political party that always has North - East high on its agenda. I am happy that our North –East Samparka cell has started functioning through different activities and projects. Also, I am happy to share with you some key measures that we have taken as a part of our efforts for overall development of this region.

1. BJP has set up a Group of Policy Researchers and Experts to prepare a North-East India 2025 Vision Document. Work has already started on this project and hopefully we will be able to release this Draft Vision Document by end of February 2011.

2. At the Party level, we have established an independent North East Sampark Cell and through this we will be setting up informal Help-Centre mechanisms in some metro cities where students from this region are studying in large number.

We in the BJP believe that the hunger for development of this region has not been given due importance by the UPA and all other Congress governments at the centre earlier. Ad hoc approach and short-term solutions have always been the order of the day. It has been our conviction that fast pace of development of this region through Good Governance will facilitate greater interaction of the people here with people from other parts of the country and all this will result in stronger emotional bondage. It is in this background that we have put up an exhibition pertaining to some highly successful development and welfare schemes of various BJP Governments in different States. This Suraj-Sankalp Pradarshani will let the people of Assam know what BJP means by Good Governance. We are confident, people of Assam and particularly in Guwahati will visit this exhibition in a big way.

Our Commitment to Good Governance

At this juncture, I must also share some very noteworthy achievements of State Governments ruled by the BJP and its allies. I am happy to share with you the fact that on the count of several socio-economic indicators including GDP growth BJP and allies ruled States have continuously fared extremely well. Let me congratulate our Madhya Pradesh Government for their introducing the Lok Sewa Guarantee Act. This is an act that makes speedy disposal of cases pending before any govt functionary as for completion of every work this act has provided a stipulated time span. If a government employee fails to comply with the stipulated time frame, he/she has to pay some compensation through their salaries. Also, I congratulate our Government in Himachal Pradesh for securing as many as four awards at the national State of the States contest of India Today. In the Faster Mover category all NDA states have bagged all the five awards. Gujarat’s fast pace of agriculture growth has been widely acclaimed and I must congratulate our govt there. I also congratulate the Chhattisgarh government for fast economic development and the Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttarakhand governments for faster growth in Education, Health and Investment fronts respectively. Karnataka too has achieved some prestigious awards for an efficient transportation system.

In the last year, we have all along stressed the need for working towards development oriented Good Governance. Through several activities we have tried to give further impetus to our idea of Politics for Development.

International Scenario

Friends, let me also share with you a general assessment of some key issues concerning India’s external affairs. The Indo-US track has arguably been the most significant relationship for India, since the end of the Cold War, and more so during the opening decade of the 21st Century. The BJP remains ardently committed to the progressive strengthening of this relationship, assuming much pride in having substantively contributed to the flowering of this strategic engagement, during its time in Office. However, the parameters of such a strategic relationship, envisaged and forged during 1998-2004, seemed to have eroded in certain quarters. The inflexion-point reached in our mutual ties, seem to have been recast, in a manner, that purportedly undermines India’s security and economic interests in certain respects, most notably, the subject of Cross-Border Terrorism spawned out of Pakistan. The failure of the UPA government to use the diplomatic channels to convince the international community about Pakistan’s aiding and abetting terrorism and still claiming to be a victim of it simultaneously has proved disastrous. We in BJP hope that the government will take all necessary steps to build upon the recent visit of U.S. President Obama to India’s advantage; especially in respect to India’s War on Terror.

UPA’s Pakistan Policy

The past 20 months of UPA-II, has had us witnessing virtually everything, from the outrageous to the ridiculous and even embarrassment, on the template of our Pakistan policy, It all started with the most inexplicable self-indulgent blunder committed at Sharm-al-Sheikh in 2009 (allowing the insertion of India’s alleged and illusory subversive role in Baluchistan into the Indo-Pak Joint Statement). Then came the very public hectoring that our Foreign Minister had to endure from his Pakistani counterpart in 2010. The most brazen dismissal by Pak authorities, of multiple ‘information-containing’ dossiers transmitted by the Union Home Minister, as documents,‘ not actionable enough,’ rather more in the nature of ‘Literature’ was the latest snub. One has to conclude that we have found all this ignominy heaped upon us, largely since, we have shifted our own goal - post of principles. Earlier we had rightly insisted on tangible action from Pakistan before any dialogue. However, later at a certain point-in-time, we made our policy stand on its head and agreed that Dialogue was inevitable and had to be initiated, irrespective of any action on Pakistan’s part. Thanks to the lack of strategic moves on our part, the hyphenated viewpoint of the international community while looking at the India – Pakistan conflict continues to persist.

India- China Relations

Bharatiya Janata Party is all for cooperative ties with the Peoples Republic of China, going forward, and we also subscribe to the idea of such a potentially dynamic relationship. One can not undermine the fact that through its proactive diplomacy, the NDA Govt ensured that relations had thawed with the PRC, so much so, that the latter saw good reason in formally acknowledging the status of Sikkim as a sovereign integral territory of the Indian Union, in the wake of Atalji’s historic sojourn to China in June 2003. We do hope that the Govt takes a discerning view of enlightened self-interest in its interactions with the PRC, blending assertive actions with cooperative engagement in mutually beneficial areas.

On Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is on a path of construction and rehabilitation post the defeat of the LTTE. The Tamil people are still awaiting complete resettlement and integration into the villages. Children and women need proper health care while the citizens in general will have to be drawn into the mainstream with their self-respect and dignity.

Review of 2010

Friends, we are here in this New Year and it makes sense to review the past year while entering the new one. We are all happy that the last year witnessed the historic ruling on Ram Janma Bhoomi. We have already welcomed this judgment and we do hope that all sections of the society will now help make a grand Ram Mandir at Ayodhya possible.

Last year was an eventful year with increased pace of party activities all over the country. We have strengthened some departments such as Training. Our three-tier Cadre Training programme has received an encouraging response. Over 15000 party workers have so far participated in our Primary Level capacity building programme. However, we still have to fine tune our Training Activities and make them more result oriented. We have to create an atmosphere where the value additions that we make through training become more obvious. If this is done, the difference between trained and untrained will become more pronounced. Similarly, on the front of Antyodaya also we have to create an atmosphere where taking up projects for Seva, Shiksha, Sanskar and Vikas becomes a normal and routine thing. Mahatma Gandhi wanted to spiritualise politics. Spiritualisation is a tall order. But, prior to that we have to sensitize our Party workers to the miseries of the deprived sections of the society and inspire them to work for these sections. Antyodaya programme primarily aims at that. I am happy to share with you that we now have worked through some structured efforts to reach out to the unorgansied labourers through a new organisation called Asanghatit Kamgar Mahasangh. I expect all of you to take keen interest in this new venture and through this new organisation reach out to the labourers from the unorganized sector.

I am also happy that we now have several new cells established mainly for the purpose of involving people with diverse areas of interests. Political parties have to be vehicles of activism. I am sure our new cells will prove to be the right avenue to those who have experience, expertise and enthusiasm but have no organisational apparatus to cultivate their own activism. Of the several new cells that we have formed, Good Governance Cell, MP- North East Sampark Cell and MP- MLA Development Cell have started functioning in full steam. Cells like Bio-Energy Cell, Human Rights Cell have also started their activities but still have to go a long way. I hope, other new as well as old cells will also start functioning in top gear and achieve the goals they have set for themselves. I am asking all the Conveners of Cells to prepare a report of their activities of the past few months and send the same to me. In fact, in BJP we have always considered “preparation and filing a report” a good practice and this must be replicable by all. Let me share with you that I myself also have prepared a Report and it will reach you soon.

For me it is a matter of great pleasure to announce that plans for a new headquarter for the Party are being given a final shape. It will not only house our Central Office but also have a Research Department and a Training Department functioning from there. We are a natural party of governance and hence should always be working on an alternative narrative on governance. In this regard we are establishing a Research Department within the BJP, which will connect with policy experts and practitioners from different sectors and come out with policy recommendations. The department will document, study and showcase the “best/ innovative practices” of our state governments. Even in states we are exploring the possibility of establishing research and training institutions to commemorate some of our senior leaders like Jagannathrao Joshi (Karnataka) and Sundersingh Bhandari (Rajasthan).

Friends, the year ahead is full of challenges. Elections in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will give us an opportunity to expand our support base. Expanding support base and making new inroads in newer sections of society has to take place at all times. We will also be holding two national level conventions. One of the conventions will be on Judicial Reforms. We are extremely concerned about the recent happenings in judiciary. It is extremely important to think of innovative ways for making justice delivery system work faster. Unless some drastic systemic reforms are introduced, people will lose their faith in judiciary. Another conference that is being planned is that of our workers who are actively associated in any Cooperative institution. The Legal Cell and Cooperatives Cell are planning these events respectively. Let me also announce that the Party shall compile all spoken and written words of our respected leader Mananiya Atal Behari Vajpayee under a project entitled Samagra Atalji. Details of carrying out this project within a year’s span are being worked out. Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, Mumbai will be carrying out this project.

Lets rekindle hope

Friends, we have come together in Guwahati at a defining moment in the history of our nation. People are highly disappointed by UPA-2’s lackluster performance. Not very long ago, the Congress had promised a Government that works. Today the UPA has given us is a government that always shirks it responsibility. The Manmohan Singh government has made an all time record of indulgence in corruption, scams and scandals, of diverse nature simultaneously. This loot of public money is not confined to Delhi alone. Here is Assam also the State government has several scandals hurting the people. We have to fight against these tendencies and awaken the masses and tell them about the truth of Bofors, of Commonwealth games, of Adarsh Society and also the 2G spectrum.

On the other hand, we also have the responsibility for making the nation free from corruption, hunger, and terror. Seeking inspiration from the lives of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee and Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay we must unitedly work for national reconstruction. People are looking up to the BJP and the NDA with great expectations. We have the responsibility of rekindling hope in the minds of people who are becoming increasingly cynical. At this moment, we look upto all our great leaders to guide us. Standing here amidst you, on the banks of Brahmaputra in the East, I cannot help but remember the prophetic words of our legendary leader, Atal Behari Vajpayee. Thirty years before, standing on the banks of the Arabian Sea in Mumbai he had promised end of darkness, rising of the sun and blossoming of the lotus. I borrow from our leader’s inspiring words and proclaim: Andhera Chhatega, Suraj Nikalega, Kamal Khilega.

Released by

Laimayum Bashanta Sharma
Secretary
Media Affairs
BJP, Manipur