Quite disappointing
Modi message to workers: Win all booths and you’ll win Kerala
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday offered prayers at Sree Krishna Temple and Sree Ramaswami Temple in Thrissur, and also attended the wedding ceremony of actor-turned-BJP leader Suresh Gopi’s daughter, finally leaving for Kochi where he addressed 7,000 booth-level in-charges from across Kerala.
Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Kerala, reached Kochi on Tuesday late evening, and flew by a chopper to the temple town Guruvayur.
At the temple, Modi prayed and performed a thulabharam, an offering, with lotus buds. He also handed over garlands to Suresh Gopi’s daughter, Bhagya Suresh, who got married to businessman Sreyas Mohan. At the temple, Modi also offered greetings to 10 other couples who wed on the same premise. Movie stars Mammootty, Mohanlal, Jayaram, Dileep, and several prominent people from the Malayalam film fraternity witnessed the ceremony.
After spending nearly an hour at Guruvayur, Modi offered prayers at one of Kerala’s prominent Ram temples in Kerala, Sree Ramaswami Temple, at Thriprayar in Thrissur district.
Modi then returned to Kochi, where he addressed a gathering of BJP booth-level in-charges whom he termed as the “lifeline of the party”.
“We should win all the booths and then we can win Kerala,’’ he told the gathering.
In his debut address to the 7,000-odd Shakthi Kendra in-charges in Kerala, Modi urged the party workers to take the achievements of the BJP government to all people in their locality.
“I have confidence in the ability of party workers in Kerala. In the light of your performance in the past, I can tell that you would win over the people of Kerala,’’ he said, asking the Shakthi Kendra in-charges to use the Namo App.
“It has a lot of information. Shakthi Kendra in-charges should be frequently in touch with people of their locality. You should understand their issues. You should take the benefits of Digital India to them. At footpaths, you should talk to the street vendors about the welfare schemes meant for them. You should take up the responsibility of families in your booths. Every vote should be ensured. You should contact first-time voters and (you) should ensure that nobody is excluded from the voters’ list,’’ he said.
Asking the workers to work hard at the booth levels, Modi said, “You should meet the beneficiaries of the schemes and should have a list of the beneficiaries of various schemes. No one should be excluded from the developmental schemes of the Union Government.’’
Exerting that the prime responsibility of the BJP government is to increase the income and savings of the common people, Modi said the BJP government’s policies and decisions have brought in positive results in the nation.
Referring to a recent NITI Aayog report on multidimensional poverty in India, Modi said 25 crore people have been out of poverty in the last nine years.
“It shows the policies and decisions of the BJP government have brought in positive results. In a nation where the Congress had for the last five decades spoken only about garibi hatao (eradicate poverty), 25 crore people have been freed from poverty in the last nine years. Our decisions on Viksit Bharat Sankalp were correct,’’ he said.
The Prime Minister said the BJP is a party of all people in all regions of the country, giving importance to the welfare of the common people. “The party believes that Viksit Bharat can be realised by strengthening the youth, the poor, the farmers, and the workers,” he said.
Referring to Ayodhya Ram temple consecration on January 22, Modi asked the booth-level workers to clean all the temples in their localities and light up Sree Rama Jyothi on the day of the Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya. “Kerala is a state where people observe Ramayana month. When the Ram Mandir prana pratishtha (consecration) happens on January 22, you should light Sree Rama Jyothi in all houses and temples,’’ he said.
Apart from party-related events, Modi also inaugurated three infrastructure projects worth Rs 4,000 crore at the Cochin shipyard. On Tuesday night, Modi had a 1.3-km roadshow in Kochi with BJP state president K Surendran. This was Modi’s second roadshow in the last two weeks. On January 3, Modi had a roadshow in Thrissur where he addressed a women’s rally.
Shaju Philip – 2024-01-17 16:11