BJP to raise security issues before voters

BHOPAL: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will approach the electorate on the issues of national, social, food and economic securities, party president Rajnath Singh said Sunday. He alleged India's security was under attack during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule.

"In one sentence, I would say that the message for the BJP workers across India from Bhopal is that the party is ready to take on the challenges before the nation with a renewed vigour," he said on the final day of the three-day national executive meet of the party here.

Rajnath Singh said by the time the next elections are held, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will be stronger than before with new allies, but he did not specify who they would be.

A committee on future programmes of the BJP, led by the party's former president M. Venkaiah Naidu, submitted its report to the party president.

Accordingly, the BJP will pursue several political programmes aggressively over the next few months. The party plans to cover every polling booth in the country with a poll committee by the end of the year.

During the first fortnight of October, committees of senior leaders will go to every state to review the political situation there and finalise the table for the future programmes to be carried out in the states.

The party will carry out an awareness campaign on the failures of the UPA government and will expose these failures before the public through rallies from
Oct 25 to Nov 6.

The party will hold its workers' conventions in 500 parliamentary constituencies over the next four months. This programme will be carried out in three phases, said the party president.

The BJP will also hold a national youth convention at Jaipur later this month and a demonstration outside parliament Nov 19, demanding the introduction of the Women's Reservation Bill.

When questioned on the BJP's ties with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Singh said that several BJP leaders are part of the RSS, which is 'the world's biggest socio-cultural organization'.

He said the RSS has never guided the BJP on electoral issues. He added that the BJP under his leadership had sought the help of the RSS's whole-time workers and the RSS has provided the BJP organisational secretaries.

Singh evaded the questions on the leadership controversy in his party, and said: "There are no two minds on the issue. You will not be kept in the dark."

On plans for the construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, he said the issue was not political but cultural and national. He maintained the BJP was committed to the cause and if needed, when it gets absolute majority in parliament, it will even bring about legislation for the construction of the temple.

Queried on the growing dissidence in the party-ruled Gujarat that goes to polls by December, Singh said: "Action has been taken against some of them (rebels). But it has to be noted that a large number of Congress MLAs and workers have expressed their willingness to join the BJP."

He downplayed the absence of two former Gujarat chief ministers Keshubhai Patel and Suresh Mehta at the national executive meet, saying the absentees had written to him individually and had specified the reasons for not attending the meet.