Asserting that “today our party has different voices”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called for a debate on the “internal democracy, ideology, gaps and shortcomings within political parties” which, he said, is “important for the growth of democracy”.
Modi’s call was apparently against the backdrop of the likely elevation of Rahul Gandhi as the Congress president next month and in line with the BJP’s sustained attack on the dynastic rule and “lack of internal democracy” in the main Opposition party.
Modi, who was speaking at 9 Ashok Road, adjacent to the BJP headquarters, at the annual “Deepawali Mangal Milan” programme organised by his party, said even though the nature of political funding of parties is discussed, “their internal democracy, ideology, gaps and shortcomings are not debated”.
“Whether democratic values are a part of their (parties) core values or not should be debated widely... I believe that the development of a true democratic spirit within political parties is necessary not only for the country’s future but also for democracy,” he said.
The BJP has all along been showcasing itself as an ideologically-driven “structured party” in contrast to the Congress, which it terms as a “family-driven ship” lacking in ideology and meritocracy. The BJP has claimed that family progenies of important leaders automatically do not rise up in the ladder in it and merit and hard work was the only way to move up in its hierarchy. Modi’s accession to the post of Prime Minister from being a proverbial chaiwala is a reference point for the BJP to strike at parivarvad of 10 Janpath.
The BJP has been always hammering at the “misrule and corruption” of the Nehru-Gandhi family since the Independence and projecting itself as a “party with difference”, focusing on the correctness of its ‘chaal, charitra and chehra’. Of late, the Congress, though, has been attacking the BJP for not allowing decentralisation of decision-making and “over concentration of power” in the hands of few, particularly after 2014.
In the past, the Prime Minister said, the BJP Central leadership’s thinking was echoed by the workers at the grass-roots level but “today our party has different voices.” At the same time, he added that when the BJP was a small organisation earlier or during the times of Jana Sangh, its forerunner, there used to be “ideological harmony” from its Central leadership down to workers in the bottom rung.
The Prime Minister lauded the “great contribution” of media in the success of Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan. He said the media joined it in “Mission Mode” but there is a long way to go on the issue.
In his brief speech, Modi also made some lighter observations. “I used to spend my day here, there are some old guards in the media, some are new, then there was no bandhan, aap logon ko tab khojna padta tha…,” he said apparently referring to the limited reporters on the BJP beat and relatively low graph of the party earlier.
He said media was then small and communication was easy, now it has expanded so much that “it is a challenge for us as how to communicate”. “Some say now aap milte nahin, pehle knock karke aa jate thay…,” Modi said recalling his old times.
After his address, Modi walked down from the dais and interacted with the media that witnessed a familiar ‘selfie craze’ among the journos who again, in a repeat of last year, sought to capture the ‘Modi-moment’ in their mobiles.
In his short remark before Modi’s address, BJP chief Amit Shah noted that Diwali marks the beginning of the New Year in Gujarat, a State from where he hails from, and said the country has met various challenges successfully during the last year and moving ahead in the new year with “lot of positivity”.