BJP projects LS polls as battle between 'daydreaming' opposition, its alliance

The BJP projected Sunday the Lok Sabha polls as a battle between a "daydreaming" opposition and its alliance -- NDA whose leader Narendra Modi has an "approval rating" of over 70 percent and is set to build a "new India" by 2022.

The political resolution passed by the national executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said while the prime minister is building an India of "no poverty, casteism, corruption and communalism", the sole agenda of the "frustrated" opposition was "roko Modi" (stop Modi), Union minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters.

This will be an India - united, strong, prosperous and confident and will not have any place for poverty, homelessness, terrorism, corruption, casteism, and sectarianism, the party said in the resolution.

It further said now the idea of India and Indianness have become the most attractive ideas for discussion across the world. India becoming the harbinger of global well-being.

"The BJP will return to power in 2019 with more seats and votes. The opposition is daydreaming. It neither has a leader nor policy nor strategy. It only has a negative agenda of stopping Modi and people do not like negative politics," he said about the resolution.

Former party president and Home Minister Rajnath Singh proposed the resolution which highlighted the government's success in internal security, including complete prevention of terror acts across Indian cities compared to the United Progressive Alliance's rule when, he claimed, "bomb blasts" would frequently happen in cities.

Javadekar said the resolution praised the leadership of Modi and party president Amit Shah. Modi's charismatic leadership, coupled with his vision and passion, combined with Shah's hard work in building the organization to extend the BJP's rule to 19 states, he said.

Under the "Jodi" (duo) of Modi and Shah, the party has close to 350 MPs and 1,500 MLAs, he said.

The executive, which comprises key party leaders from across the country, in the resolution asserted the government had progressed a lot in building a new India by 2022, which was a "resolve" of Modi, and expressed the confidence that it will be realized.

The government is working with "sabka saath, sabka vikas" and Modi has an approval rating of over 70 percent, something which is unprecedented for a leader after four years in power, Javadekar said.

On internal security, the resolution said the Naxal-affected region has shrunk by over two-thirds under the BJP rule while the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) has been lifted from many parts of the north-east region due to the return of peace.

"A foundation for development cannot be laid without internal security," it said.

Talking about Jammu and Kashmir, the resolution asserted that the BJP's leadership has held national interest above party interests and boldly walked out of the government in the state in order to facilitate more concrete action for peace and development.

It further said stern steps taken by the government in the last three years have led to the elimination of more than 600 terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.

On the economic front, it said India had become the sixth largest economy and the GST has boosted revenue, with the people having no problem with it now after the government addressed their concerns.

The resolution clubbed demonetization along with Goods and Services Tax (GST) and other important economic legislation as measures that set India's economic basics right while bringing economic discipline and rule of law in the governance.

"As a result, after a brief slowdown, the Indian economy is rising fast. We are the fastest growing major economy in the world today with a 7.5 percent GDP growth rate as projected by the IMF," the BJP said in the resolution.

The resolution, party leaders, made no direct mention of the issue of oil price rise, over which the opposition has given a call for "Bharat Bandh" tomorrow, the Rafale deal and protests by groups claiming to represent upper castes.

Javadekar, however, claimed inflation was over 10 percent under the UPA and around 5 percent under the Modi government.

On caste issues, he said the BJP has always taken decisions keeping in mind interests of all sections of society.

The government is working with a right policy on the issue of oil prices, he claimed.