The two-day National Executive meet of the BJP started Friday morning in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party President Amit Shah in Bengaluru. It is the first meeting after Amit Shah was made the BJP president who will be delivering the inaugural speech.
The main focus of this meet will be on the Land Acquisition Bill. Under attack by the Sonia-led UPA, BJP said it will launch a programme to dispel the myths being spread and explain to the people that the Centre is only trying to rectify the loopholes in the act brought by the previous government. The BJP clarified that it will engage farmers in a dialogue even as it remains open to changes suggested by rival parties.
The Congress however dismissed it saying that the meeting is nothing but a brainwashing session.
The national executive is also expected to discuss ways to strengthen the party in south India and plan a poll strategy for the upcoming Bihar election.
The party also explained that it would come out with a plan to publicise the good works of the government when it completes one year in power next month.
The party’s General Secretary P Muralidhar Rao said that over 15 lakh members will undergo a training programme and play an important role in reaching out to the public.
The Big Question
The question over senior leader L K Advani’s valedictory speech addressing delegates continues to remain unanswered.
He (Advani) has come here and will be present throughout the meet. He is always there to guide us.
– P Muralidhar Rao, BJP General Secretary
Advani’s valedictory address has been a customary fixture in the national executive meetings barring the one in Goa in 2013 which he had skipped in an apparent protest against the elevation of Modi as the party’s campaign committee head jsut before the Lok Sabha elections in 2014.
The party’s patriarch has been kept out of key decision-making bodies by the Modi-Shah combine and made him a largely ceremonial margdarshak.
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