‘Will take everyone with us’
NEW DELHI, May 23:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today promised to devote “every moment” of his time and “every fibre” of his being for the people of India and said the country will now have only two castes — the poor and those who want to alleviate poverty.
In a rousing speech at the party headquarters here to celebrate the BJP’s spectacular victory, Modi told cheering supporters that the election has thrown up a mandate to build a new India.
“People are chanting Modi, Modi. But this is not a victory of Modi, it is the victory of people who are desperate for honesty in the system,” Modi said.
Striking a conciliatory political tone, he also reached out to his rivals, urging everyone to put the rancour of the bitter and often nasty campaign behind them. What’s past is past, he said.
“We have to move ahead. We have to take everyone with us, even our opponents. We have to work for the benefit of the country,” he said. “You have filled this fakir’s bag with a lot of hope. All your hopes, dreams, ambitions are dependent on it,” he said.
This is the victory of toiling farmers who struggle to feed the nation, this is the victory of those who now live in proper houses, this is the victory of the middle class which follows the rules, pays taxes, but wondered if his taxes were being used for the benefit of the country, he said.
In the last five years, people have realised that the money they are contributing in taxes has been put to nation-building, he said.
Addressing the countrymen directly, Modi said he will not do anything with bad intention, even though, he added, he may at times commit a mistake on job.
“I will not do anything for myself,” he said, signalling the noisy crowd to keep quiet and then added, “I will devote every moment of my time and every fibre of my being for my countrymen.”
“Whenever you judge me, judge me on these three parameters. If I fall short on these, curse me. But I assure my countrymen that what I have said in public I will do my best to fulfil,” he said.
Values and spirit of democracy and the Constitution enjoin his Government to take everyone along as the country is run with consensus, he said.
In a jibe at BJP’s rivals, who are seen as the secular counter to the saffron party’s Hindutva agenda, he said people who used to proudly wear a “fake tag” of secularism did not talk about it at all.
“The opposition did not dare to mislead the country while wearing the false mask of secularism. The opposition did not accuse us of raising prices. All previous elections were fought on corruption issues. This was the first one in which any political party could not level even one charge of corruption,” he said.
People in the 2019 elections have put forth a new narrative, he said, adding that only two “castes” will remain in the country; the poor and those contributing to alleviating poverty.
Voters have dealt a huge blow to the parties doing politics in the names of castes, he said.
The Prime Minister said the verdict has vindicated his view that it was not parties but people who fought this election.
Modi also drew a Mahabharat war parallel with the elections.
Krishna was asked after the war which side he supported and he answered that he stood for Hastinapur, and people have spoken in the elections that they stood for India, the Prime Minister said.
Meanwhile, the BJP’s headquarters today wore a festive look with slogans of ‘Modi, Modi’ rending the air as jubilant workers danced and distributed sweets in celebration.
No sooner the picture emerged about the astounding performance of the BJP in the afternoon, party workers started gathering at the headquarters on Deendayal Upadhyaya Marg atop which the saffron flag fluttered in the air.
Many supporters, most wearing saffron clothes, burst crackers infront of the office, danced and distributed ‘ladoos’ and slogans of ‘Modi, Modi’ and ‘Jai Shri Ram’ reverberated in the air.
Inside the headquarters, the mood was particularly festive as supporters, which came from far and near, joined in the celebrations as cut-outs of Modi and BJP president Amit Shah swung in the air.
RSS ideologue and BJP MP Rakesh Sinha, who was present at the headquarters, hailed the results as a “victory of Modi and his vision” and attributed it to a “silent Modi wave”.
“This is a consolidation of Modi-ism. And Nehruvism has now been completely replaced by Modi-ism. It is mandate to Modi, his actions and his vision,” Sinha said.
Shah arrived at the BJP headquarters in the evening even as a stampede-like situation arose after a large crowd that had gathered there went berserk in excitement.
Modi arrived after Shah amid light drizzle around 7:11 pm and flashed victory signs with both hands to acknowledge the stellar win the party was inching to.
In his address, he thanked voters for choosing the BJP and said, “You have filled a ‘fakir’s jholi’ with this mandate” and this is a “victory of the people and the victory of democracy”. (PTI)
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