Abrogation of Art 370, paving way for Ram temple, CAA among bold steps by Modi govt 2.0: Nadda

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 30

BJP president JP Nadda on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was able to bridge the gap of 60 years in a mere six years with decisive and bold decisions, bringing a “cultural change in the political arena” of the country.

Addressing mediapersons on the occasion of the completion of first year in office by Narendra Modi government 2.0, Nadda said when PM Modi took over in 2014, the country was at a “standstill”. “In his first term, he gave a momentum to governance. In the second term, the government was already in its pace, a momentum due to which several bold decisions could be taken,” he said.

Enumerating the “holistic” social and economic steps taken in past one year, the BJP president said decisions like abrogation of Article 370 and 35A were a result of the Prime Minister’s ‘icha shakti’ (will power), the ‘sutradhaar’ of which became Home Minister Amit Shah.

“The people of Jammu and Kashmir have been mainstreamed. More than 100 laws passed by the Centre were not earlier implemented in J&K. Ladakh is now a separate UT. The Centre’s money is going right to the panchayat level and those who were earlier deprived, like women and Dalits, are now enjoying all rights.

“It was also the wish of the country that Article 370 should be removed. With his bold and decisive actions, the Prime Minister has shown what is right is right and can be implemented without any compromise. He has brought a cultural change in the political arena,” he said.

Speaking of the efforts taken by the government to tackle the Covid-19 crisis, Nadda stressed on the PM’s pitch on ‘atmanirbhar bharat’ (self-reliant India).

“The government has been responsive and receptive and the government has the capacity to take decisions. As compared to other countries, India fought the corona battle with PM leading from the front and taking timely and bold decisions at a time when many big countries became helpless.

“Timely lockdown has led to a situation where the country is in a stable situation,” he said

Enumerating various steps, Nadda said holistic economic package will make every section ‘atma nirbhar’ and help them stand on their feet.

The BJP president also slammed Congress and Rahul Gandhi for “politicisation of corona”. “The Congress has not behaved responsibly,” he said, adding that all Gandhi had done so far was “confuse” the country during the crisis.

To a question related to the state of India’s economy, the BJP president assured India’s approach will remain “progressive and not regressive. We are not trying to go back to any licence/ ‘quota raj’. We are only trying to encourage our entrepreneurs”.

Hailing the PM, Nadda said even amid unimaginable challenges, he led from the front and managed the situation very well. “I give my best wishes so that he is able to carry on the work and serve the nation with the same strength as he has done in the past.

“In the past six years, India has become self-reliant and this has been because of PM Modi. He has been able to bridge the gap of past 60 years in a six-year time with reforms and bold decisions for social and economic justice and keeping in mind the country’s ‘ekta’ and ‘akhandta’ (unity and integrity).

Nadda said in just one year of the second term, the government passed important legislations like CAA, triple talaq, UAPA and increasing the ambit of NIA, FDI in civil aviation, reduction in corporate tax, banks’ merger, reduction in NPA, easy loans, amendments in companies Act, which were all indicative of intentions of the government.

Nadda also mentioned the building of grand Ram temple in Ayodhya. “It was our dream of many decades that a grand Ram temple is built. Yes, it was Supreme Court which gave the decision even though the Congress tried its best to put up obstacles”.

The BJP today launched a special edition of its inhouse magazine ‘Kamal Sandesh’.

To mark the first year of the government, the party will deliver the PM’s message in a letter to 10 crore people, hold 250 virtual press conferences, 2,000 meetings with at least 1,000 party workers and 500 meetings by morcha heads so that “work done by the Modi government in one year reaches up to the grassroots”.