Modi stakes claim to form new Govt, pushes agenda to win ‘trust’ of all sections

New Delhi: Armed with the mandate from BJP parliamentary party and newly elected NDA lawmakers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday staked claim with the President Ram Nath Kovind to form Government.
Mr Modi met President and staked claim after BJP chief Amit Shah and other NDA leaders handed over a letter of support to President Kovind.
An NDA delegation, led by Amit Shah, President, BJP, and comprising Parkash Singh Badal, Rajnath Singh, Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan, Sushma Swaraj, Uddhav Thakeray, Nitin Gadkari, K. Palaniswami, Conrad Sangma and Neiphiu Rio, called on the President.
“A letter stating that Mr Modi had been elected leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party was handed over to the President. Letters of support from NDA constituent parties were also handed over to the President,” a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said here.
In his over 75-minute address after being elected the leader of the NDA, Modi stressed on the need to win over the trust of minorities, spoke extensively on the BJP’s second consecutive victory, pro-incumbency, the Lok Sabha elections, and also cautioned the newly-elected members against taking favours. He invoked the spirit of the 1857 freedom struggle, saying all communities had then joined hands for independence and a similar movement should be started for good governance now. Urging the newly-elected MPs to work without any discrimination, Modi said that minorities, in the past, have been “deceived and made to live in fear by those who believed in vote-bank politics.” In his attack at the opposition, Modi said that instead of fear-mongering, education and health of the minorities should have been the concern of political leaders.
“In 2019, I urge you, we have to end this deception, we have to win their trust,” he said. Speaking to NDA MPs of the 17th Lok Sabha, Modi said the 2019 elections was an exercise to unite people and break down the walls that divide us.
“It is said that politics creates walls, differences, but the 2019 election has broken down those walls. This election has worked to unite people. It was an exercise at social unity,” he said.
Comparing the elections to a spiritual journey, Modi said it felt like a pilgrimage to him. “I have seen many obstacles in life. I have contested many elections, won and lost too, but the 2019 election has been to me a sort of a pilgrimage,” he said.
Speaking on the achievements of his government’s tenure since 2014, Modi attributed the BJP’s second term in power to the “faith (of people) that resulted in a pro-incumbency wave.”
The BJP emerged a clear winner in the general elections, bagging 303 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. In the outgoing Lok Sabha, the BJP had 282 seats. “This election was an election for positive votes. The government has been elected again, given more responsibility.”
“From 2014 to 2019, the poor in the country have run the government. I say it with utmost contentment today that this new government has also been formed by the poor,” he further said, adding that neither their status, nor the Modi brand brought the party to power again, but the people and their mandate. Expressing his gratitude to the allies of the BJP, Modi said all are equals in the NDA and all will embark together on a new journey together to aspire for a new India with fresh energy. “You all have elected me as the leader, I think of it as a part of the system, I’m one of you, equal to you,” he said.
The soon-to-be Prime Minister also took blessings of BJP veterans Murli Manohar Joshi and LK Advani and bowed down before the Constitution of India. “I’m talking to you after bowing before the constitution, there can not be a ‘bhed-rekha’ for a people’s representative. We are for those who were with us, we are also for those who will be with us,” he said. Congratulating the newly-elected MPs, Modi said, “You all deserve greetings but those elected for the first time deserve an even bigger one. I offer all of you my greetings.” Modi also gave several directions to the MPs, urging them to avoid giving media statements merely for publicity and shun the “VIP culture”. Asking the MPs to exercise restraint in speaking to media, Modi said some statements made for publicity have often caused troubles for the party.
“Media ke logo ko bhi pata hota hai ki 6 namune hain, vaha subah pahoch jayo, gate ke bahar khade raho, nikal ke kuchh to bolega (Media also knows there are six foolish people. Arrive at their places in the morning, stand outside the door and expect (the leaders) will certainly say something). Modi called for the NDA to work in cohesion for the country’s development and said his “naara” (slogan) for the alliance is “national ambition and regional aspirations”.
Our mantra now is ‘Sabka sath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas’, he said.
With speculation rife over who will join his Council of Ministers, Modi said he was yet to go through details of all the NDA MPs and asked them to not trust media reports in this regard, adding they are aimed at creating confusion and often put out with “bad intentions”. Responsibilities will be given as per norms, he said. At the NDA parliamentary meet Saturday, BJP president Amit Shah thanked the allies for choosing Modi as the next Prime Minister of the country. “Modi is elected the leader of the parliamentary party of 353 MPs unanimously,” Shah announced as Modi acknowledged the support and cheers from MPs.
Shah proposed Modi’s name and former party presidents Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari seconded the proposal. Modi’s election was a mere formality as the NDA had already declared him the alliance’s prime ministerial candidate.