BJP president Amit Shah on Friday said the hoisting of the National Flag at Red Fort by a “BJP worker” marked a “big day” for party workers.
“After a long time a very good day has come for BJP workers. A BJP worker today hoisted the National Flag at Red Fort. It is a big day,” he said in a brief address after unfurling the flag at the party’s headquarters.
Shah, who was recently anointed as the party president, said the organisation should walk alongside the Government under Narendra Modi for the country’s progress.
Stating that though earlier BJP had a Government at the Centre, this is the first time that the party enjoyed a majority. “Atal Bihari Vajpayee also hoisted the flag as a BJP worker. But the difference between him and Narendrabhai is that the BJP Government has a majority,” said Shah, a Modi confidant.
Shah, who was the key architect of the BJP’s emphatic victory in UP and who is expected to announce his new team early next week, has the next task of ensuring that the party continues the winning momentum in Assembly elections in four States later this year.
All fours States — Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir — are ruled by members of the Congress-led UPA and Shah has to energise party cadres there and also in Delhi, which has been under President’s rule since February and could see snap polls.
The BJP also hopes its win in the State elections will better its numbers in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in a minority and has to depend on Opposition parties to push through important legislations.
In States like Maharashtra and Haryana, where it has been out power for years, the BJP also faces problems over seat sharing with allies.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar hailed Modi’s speech, saying it came from the heart and touched the heart of the country.
“Modi’s speech was unmatched and inspirational. He laid out a roadmap for ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas (with all, development for all)’,” he said, hailing Modi’s references to daughters, ideal villages, sanitation and peace, harmony and amity.
Asked if some National Development and Reforms Commission, as speculated in the media, will replace Planning Commission, he said details of the proposed commission are still being worked out.