Opposition lacks road map for Viksit Bharat, only BJP can deliver it: PM Modi

New Delhi, Feb 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Sunday that the BJP’s return to power with a strong mandate is the first condition for India to realise its big goals as he exhorted thousands of party members to work with renewed energy, vigour and enthusiasm for the next 100 days to ensure a big victory.
Addressing nearly 11,500 BJP delegates from across the country at Bharat Mandapam here, he said he is seeking power not for “satta bhog” (enjoying power) but for the country’s benefit, and slammed the opposition, especially the Congress, saying they make all kinds of false promises but lack a road map for making the country developed.
This is something only the BJP can do, he said, exuding confidence about his return to power while noting that many foreign countries have invited him for engagements in July, August and September. This suggests that these countries also know that “aayega toh Modi hi” (Modi’s re-election is inevitable). In his 65-minute valedictory speech at the BJP’s national convention ahead of the Lok Sabha elections expected in April-May, the prime minister stuck to the message of the country’s growth and rising global standing besides his government’s measures for empowering every section of society, especially the poor. He asked BJP members to connect with all sections of society, including those who have not been inclined to the party, saying they have to earn the trust of everyone.
When everyone makes an effort, then the BJP will win more than 370 seats and the NDA led by it 400-plus seats in the 543-member House, he said. “We have to connect with everyone, not for forming government but to build the country,” he said. Taking an aim at critics who wondered if he would be able to handle foreign policy, he said India’s ties with West Asia is at its strongest and noted that he was the first prime minister in a few decades to visit the UAE. The Congress government used to look at West Asia through the prism of Pakistan, he said. Five Arab countries have bestowed their highest honours on him. Modi said the nation no longer thinks and dreams small. It now has big dreams and has taken big resolutions to make India a developed country by 2047, he added.
“The next five years are going to be crucial. We have to take a big leap towards ‘Viksit Bharat’. The first condition for realising the big goals for the country is to ensure the return of the BJP to power with a strong mandate,” he said. He said the Congress is riven by internal divisions not due to ideological differences but over its stand on him as one section believes in tarnishing his image by all means, including personal attacks, while another wants to avoid this approach. (PTI)