Kishore Poreddy
BJP TS spokesperson
We want to make it clear to our rival political parties: we are not the same as you.Ours is a democratic party. In the Bharatiya Janata Party, a common karyakartaamong the cadre can aspire to become the head of the party. They do not have to be from a particular family or be that family’s puppet. One need not be ‘made’ the head of the party or the government by the powers that be, when the party comes to power. One rises to the top through hard work, grit, service, and leadership ability. It is not just one’s heredity that matters. The same goes for one’s social and economic status too.
We stand for equal opportunity and inclusiveness. Being a democratic party not in the clutches of a particular family, caste, or a few individuals, the BJP provides equal opportunity for every karyakarta. Social justice is not just some slogan for the party – it’s not something that those who run the partygrant members by their ‘grace’. Social justice becomes an inherent outcome of the democratic nature of the party. The humble social and economic origins of our country’s President and Prime Minister illustrate this point beyond doubt.
We put the nation first, even above the party and self. For this reason, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, popularly called the Jan Sangh, was able to renounce its identity and merge with the Janata Party to fight the dictatorship unleashed during the Emergency and restore democracy in the country. We put party above self. That is why one seldom sees elected representatives of the BJP being part of horse-trading. Our karyakartas understand there are no shortcuts to gaining the voters’ confidence and are willing to slog for decades to grow into becoming the voters’ first choice.
We take pride in our rich culture and time-tested civilisational values. Our history tells us the world has always benefited and can benefit today from our culture and civilisational values. When the world was tearing itself apart based on differences in race, religion and such, India, throughout its history, has always given shelter to those persecuted, be it the Jews or the Zoroastrians, for example. When the economically and militarily dominant were wiping out native cultures worldwide, the same communities found refuge and later thrived in India because of our unique VasudaikaKutumbakam ethos. Though foreigners conquered and colonised us for centuries, we believe our mindset and spirit need not stay colonised. Though we take pride in our culture, we realise that, like everything else, culture is not immune to entropy, and constant renewal is only possible through reforms. That is why the BJP always supported reforms to empower women and, unlike other parties who pay lip service, could push through the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam to give women a minimum of 33 per cent representation in our Parliament and Assemblies.
We have immense confidence in not just our culture but also our people. We understand that many of our citizens may be poor and even illiterate. Still, we know they are so because of the systemic loot that our colonisers perpetuated over centuries and not because of some innate cultural disability of their own.
That is why we could push through ideas like ‘Digital India’, even though highly regarded Western-educated ‘intellectuals’ from our rival parties ridiculed it. The BJP has never shared and forever will never share the low expectations and contempt that other political parties have for our citizens.
In addition, our party believes that Indians may profess different religions, but religion can never be a reason for denying rights to any citizen. We do not see our citizens entrapped in unshatterable silos. For example, we believe that every woman, regardless of religion, should be entitled to equality and equal protection of the law; hence, our support for a Common Civil Code. Abolishing and criminalising Instant Triple Talaq is driven by our belief that legislation and statutory reform can extend protection to all disadvantaged, regardless of religion. Eviscerating Article 370, focusing on the development of North East India, are all steps driven by the belief that India is one; religion, history, and geography can only be excuses but never insurmountable obstacles to our oneness.
We believe India can only prosper through Sabka Vikas, and that goal is only possible through Sabka Prayas. The success of ‘Startup India’, which made us the third-largest Startup ecosystem in the world, is a testimony to what Indians can do when their government trusts and enables them, instead of controlling them.
In a few weeks from now, the voters of Telangana will go to the polls to select those who will govern them for the next five years. The alternatives available to them are the BJP, on the one hand, and dynastic, corrupt, and communal parties, on the other.
