PM Modi insists NDA lawmakers to come up with 'united front' against I.N.D.I.A

Modi said that to counter the efforts of the I.N.D.I.A Alliance, lawmakers should raise issues of corruption attached to the lawmakers in their respective regions.

In a meeting with NDA lawmakers from all over Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is said to have asked them to come up with a united front by highlighting achievements of the government, as well as speak about the corruption cases attached to the leaders of the I.N.D.I.A Alliance in their respective areas.

On Monday, PM Modi met with two clusters of MPs; one with 42 MPs from Uttar Pradesh’s Paschim, Braj and Kanpur-Bundelkhand regions, and another with 41 MPs from West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha.

In his meeting with the Western UP cluster, the prime minister said that with the Lok Sabha elections barely a year away, constituents of the NDA should have a cohesive communication strategy, and their stands on issues should be unified. As per a lawmaker of the party attending the meet, PM Modi said that NDA MPs must highlight the achievements of the Modi government, especially in the employment front in the last few years.

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Modi also said that to counter the efforts of the I.N.D.I.A Alliance, lawmakers should raise the issues of corruption attached to the lawmakers in their respective regions. All the MPs present spoke and gave their feedback for 2-3 minutes each, said the leader. Modi also said that while the BJP is the big brother in the NDA, the government’s achievements would not have been possible without the constituents of the alliance.

Party president JP Nadda gave a presentation on the history of the NDA, and about the work of the government in the last nine years.

Modi also told the legislators that in areas that do not have an NDA MP, the work of the NDA government must be highlighted. And in areas where the people are angry with the NDA, the lawmakers must try to convince them. He also advised the lawmakers to be with the people, and attend programmes in their constituencies – be it weddings or festivals.

Modi also told the lawmakers that, a woman from Uttarakhand once told him that while she has no one, she has a son (Modi) sitting in Delhi. “It is because of people like her that we won Uttarakhand,” Modi is said to have told the lawakers.

In the meeting with UP MPs, party president JP Nadda and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari were present, while Sanjeev Balyan and BL Verma were the host ministers. Santosh Gangwar and Bhola Singh were made in-charge of the grouping, while Rajkumar Chahar and Rajesh Agarwal were made coordinating office-bearers.

For the other meeting, which continued past 11 pm, Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh were dignitaries, while Dharmendra Pradhan and Shantanu Thakur were host ministers. Sanjay Seth and Jotimay Singh Mahto were made in-charge MPs and Dilip Ghosh and Baijayant Panda were made coordinator office bearers.

A union minister, who did not wish to be named, said that the meetings are a “celebration of good governance” by the Modi government.

The next meetings will be held on August 2; in one cluster of 48 MPs, the 25 MPs from Karnataka as well as lawmakers from Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Andaman and Lakshadweep will meet the PM. In another cluster, 48 MPs from UP’s Kashi, Gorakhpur and Awadh will meet him. In all, 11 such clusters have been made, and meetings will be held on August 3, 8, 9 and 10.

Speaking to reporters at the Parliament before the meeting, Union Minister and President of Apna Dal (Sonelal) Anupriya Patel, said that it is the responsibility of NDA lawmakers to present a report card of the work that has been done.