 "Modi wants people's ideas for BJP's 2014 manifesto")
He has urged people to share their ideas with the party. "Your voice, your manifesto! Urging you to share ideas for 2014 BJP manifesto. Let us work together for a better India!" Modi wrote on the micro-blogging site Twitter.
For Modi, who has been propagating the motto of inclusive growth, this is not the first instance where he has sought participation of people. In 2010 when Modi had conceptualised the idea of Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, he had urged every village in Gujarat to contribute soil and water to build the structure. On his call representatives of every village across Gujarat had come with soil and water from their respective village and poured it into foundation of the Mahatma Mandir which one of the biggest convention centers of India.
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Recently, Modi has sought a piece of iron from every village of India to build a statue of Sardar Patel which will be called 'Statute of Unity'. The iron collected will be melted and used to build the proposed 182 meter high statue of Sardar Patel near the Sardar Sarovar Dam. This statue will be bigger than the statue of Liberty and equivalent to a 60 storied building.
The BJP has floated a separate website 'bjpelectionmanifesto.com' where the party has invited suggestion to be included in the manifesto.
"A Manifesto is a public declaration of intent. For the BJP, intent is also commitment. During the BJP-led NDA years, the Government headed by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee demonstrated that this commitment is non-negotiable. Indeed, it formed the bedrock of our policies and programmes which went way beyond what was committed. The BJP remains steadfast in that commitment – not only to its supporters but also the people of India. For us, our Manifesto shall be the basis of our governance agenda for a powerful, secure and resurgent India. It shall be the foundation of peace, progress and prosperity," the website stated.
It further stated that a manifesto should reflect the aspirations of the masses, especially the youth. "It should address concerns of the people and it should redefine the way India is governed at the moment. The BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has called for the transformation of Representative Democracy into Participatory Democracy. As the first step towards your participation, we seek your suggestions and ideas to make our Manifesto more meaningful and purposeful ... We will consider each suggestion with care," it added.
The Manifesto Committee for the 2014 general election is headed by veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi.