Prime Minister Modi addressed journalists today at a press conference held by BJP President Amit Shah at BJP Headquarters in Delhi. Shah elucidated the long list of achievements of the NDA government between 2014-19 and reiterated his belief that BJP will win a majority on its own this time around as well.
Amit Shah said, “BJP workers are confident of getting more than 300 seats in the elections, NDA will form government and Narendra Modi will again become Prime Minister of the country.” Shah also stated that, apart from Modi who addressed 142 rallies, he personally had visited 312 Lok Sabha constituencies, held 161 public meetings, took part in 18 roadshows and covered at least 1.58 lakh kilometers during the course of the election campaign.
Other prominent leaders who addressed a great number of public meetings were Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with 135 rallies, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Phadnavis with 51 rallies and Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani with 86 of his own.
“The people of the country have decided that our government will be formed. I hope that the new government will start functioning at the earliest,” the Prime Minister said. “It will happen after a long time in the country, our Government will come to power with absolute majority for second consecutive time,” he added.
Narendra Modi also said that campaigning for the elections in 2019 was about expressing his gratitude towards the citizens of the country. He said, “For me, the elections were about expressing gratitude to the people of India. I have said thanks wherever I went. And I am here to thank you too. The journey we had started, we need the people’s blessing to move forward with it.”
“The election campaign was a success. In the last two elections, even the IPL couldn’t be held. When the government is strong, IPL, Ramzaan, school exams and others tend to take place peacefully,” the Prime Minister told reporters.
Amit Shah, for his part, remarked on the enthusiasm with which volunteers participated in the campaign. He said that slogans such as ‘Aayega to Modi hi’ were propagated by volunteers themselves and the BJP merely adopted it.
Amit Shah also took questions from the journalists present. As expected, questions about Sadhvi Pragya’s controversial comments on Godse and Gandhi were asked to the BJP President. Answering a question, Shah said, “We have issued a notice to the three leaders. These views are purely independent and have nothing to do with the party. We have sought a response and will initiate disciplinary action accordingly.”
Shah further stated that the Sadhvi’s candidature from Bhopal and her statements were two separate issues and should not be clubbed together. He asserted that giving her a ticket was BJP’s ‘Satyagraha’ against the Congress’ Hindu Terror narrative. Shah stated, “Pragya Thakur’s candidature is a ‘Satyagraha’ against a fake case of fake Bhagwa terror. I want to ask the Congress, some people were earlier arrested in the Samjhauta blast case who were related to the Lashkar-e-Toiba. A fake case of ‘bhagwa terror’ was made in which the accused have been acquitted.”
Amit Shah was also questioned on the allegations made by Mamata Banerjee against the BJP accusing the party of spreading violence. Shah said, “80 karyakartas of the BJP have died so far. What does Mamata Banerjee have to say about that? Who’s spreading violence? We are contesting elections all across the country, why doesn’t violence break out anywhere else? Mamata Banerjee is only contesting from West Bengal, why is violence happening only here?” He also criticised media for not questioning Mamata Banerjee for widespread violence in West Bengal.
Prime Minister Modi did not take any questions personally as it was a press conference of BJP president held at BJP headquarters. When a question was directed towards him, he passed the question to Amit Shah.
