Cong MPs, MLAs were 'inaccessible' to people, BJP brought

BJP chief Amit Shah today alleged that MPs and MLAs were inaccessible to people during the Congress rule, while his party has brought in an "institutional change" in the way elected representatives engage with the masses.

Addressing a function here, Shah, 52, also claimed that prior to the formation of Modi government, people were beginning to "question their faith" in a "multi-party democratic system".

"I grew up in a village... Elected representatives from Congress were there in many parts of the country. We had seen that meeting an MLA or an MP was unimaginable. It was not possible to meet even the associates of these persons (lawmakers).
 

"No one would dare take anyone to their house. If someone got an opportunity to shake hands with them (MLAs/MPs) from below a stage, they would not shake hands with anyone else for next three days. Such was the scenario," Shah said.

But, the BJP, in a multi-party system, has changed the "character" of a public representative, the BJP president asserted.

Today, people do not go to their representatives. The elected representatives hold 'janata darbar', take rounds in hospitals and public places.

He said public representatives cannot discharge functions effectively unless they reach out to the people.

"If he doesn't know, what the people are thinking, then that elected representative will not be able to fulfil his duties," Shah said, after releasing a community outreach magazine of BJP MP Maheish Girri at a function here.

The BJP president said it was logistically not possible to reach out to every party worker in person, let alone every person in public.

New communication technologies have evolved, but in the last 10-15 years facts have been presented in a distorted way, and reaching out to people is essential to clear the haze on these issues, he said.

"There was a time when people were looking for an alternative, wondering if the multi-party democratic system built by our constitution makers had failed?" he said.

But then 2014 came, and "after 30 years" a party formed a government with a complete majority. Also, a non-Congress party formed a complete majority government for the first time after Independence, he said.

"And, so, in these three years, we have shown that even in a multi-party democratic system, against all odds and amid all obstacles, creation of a great nation is possible," Shah added.

The BJP president also traced the "eventful journey" of the party from its origin in the Jana Sangh.

"Our prospects were nill when the party was established, and we have faced opposition and neglect.... But, today, we have come up as a huge party. From 10 initial members, we are now 11 crore...Over 300 MPs and at Centre a government of full majority," he added.

Besides, Girri, BJPs Delhi in-charge Shyam Jaju, party's Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari and senior Sangh leader Bajrang Lal Gupta were also present on the occasion.