Modi lauds BJP leadership for ambitious membership drive

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today patted the BJP leadership for its ambitious membership drive that is claimed to have added 10 crore members, saying they are the "real owners" of the party and workers needed to be accorded respect in the organisation.
In his 45-minute address during the day-long meeting of the party office-bearers, including all state presidents and organisational general secretaries, Modi lauded the party's efforts in converting 10 crore voters out of a total of 17 crore who catapulted the party to power at the Centre and called upon them to convert them further into active workers.
He said workers are supreme and they need to be accorded respect in the party. They are a big force and they need to be utilised in various social works initiated by the party to give a new direction to society, he said, according to party sources.

"These 10 crore members are the real owners of the party, which is supreme," said Modi, who also noted that the government was only a tool to achieve the objective of serving society.
He said it is good that voters of BJP are now becoming members and sought their involvement in party work and its various initiatives and termed it as a "big achievement" that the party had become the largest one in the world.
In his concluding remarks at the office-bearers meeting held to chalk out the agenda for the two-day national executive of the party beginning tomorrow, he also told BJP leaders to further involve and engage the new members in party work, especially the various social tasks taken up by him and the party.

He said that the Clean Ganga campaign evoked a huge spiritual strength and was not just meant for cleaning up the Ganga but all the rivers in the country.

Modi also asked the leaders to make the International Yoga Day on June 21 a major success by taking yoga to each and every village in the country.
He also sought partymen's support in taking the Beti Bachao campaign and Jan Dhan scheme to the people, besides making Swachh Bharat mission more effective.
"I want at least 10,000 of these 10 crore members to exclusively work for this 'Swachh Bharat' campaign," he told the partymen, said sources.

Talking about the decision of the government to confer Bharat Ratna on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he said the people and the party workers are happy over it. "This decision has added to our strength."
He also drew similarities among Mahatma Gandhi, Ram Manohar Lohia and Deendayal Upadhyay, saying all of them always thought about the last person in society.