On the second and the last day of the National Convention of the Bharatiya Janata Party being organised at the Ramlila Maidan, Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the gathering of party members. Modi encouraged the party members to gear up for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and make the party win. Here are a few takeaways from his speech:

On the First Prime Minister

“Had Sardar Patel been the first Prime Minister of India, the picture of the country would have been different”, Modi said. “I also would like to add, had Atal ji been the Prime Minister after the elections of 2000, the country would have reached elsewhere”, he added. Blaming Congress for ruining ten significant years of the country in corruption and scams he said, “It will not be wrong if I say that the between 2004-2019 the country has lost 10 significant years to corruption and scam. These 10 years were very crucial at the beginning of the 21st century”.

On the Issue of Corruption

Modi praised his government for not having any case of corruption against it, unlike the previous Congress government. He said, “This is the first time in the history of the country that the government has no allegation of corruption. We can be proud of the fact that there is no blot on us.”  He said that his party has shown that government can be run without corruption and that the country can be changed for the good of the common people.

On 10% Reservation for General Category

The Prime Minister said that the weaker sections of the General category cannot be deprived of the rights which were given by Baba Saheb Ambedkar to the backward classes of the country. Clarifying on the impact of the implementation of 10% reservation, he assured that this will not deprive the other people of their rightful share. He said that 10% seats will be added in the existing seats in educational institutions. “I do not and have not claimed that this will solve all the problems. But this is a step towards solving the problem”, he said referring to the 10% reservation.

On Women Participation

Modi said that his government has worked for ensuring greater participation of women in different sectors referring to the Maternity Bill which was passed by his government in 2016. He said that women are now flying fighter planes

On Bank Loans

Attacking the Congress government for adopting corrupt ways to help its own people get loans from banks Modi said that there were two ways of getting loans in the country- Common process and Congress process. Common process people took loans from the bank for home and education etc and they had to repay the whole amount. Under the Congress process, the banks were forced to give loans to people whom the party favoured. Such people managed to take further loans to repay their previous dues.

On Opposition Parties

Modi called the Mahagathbandhan of the opposition parties a historically failed experiment. He said that the very same parties that came into existence to oppose the Congress the party have now joined hands with the same Congress party against one person (referring to himself). They (opposition want a majboor sarkar, we want a majboot sarkar,” he said. He gave the example of alliance made between the TDP and the Congress in Telangana which lost the election. Referring to the Karnataka Chief Minister Kumaraswamy’s statement Modi said within few months of forming the coalition government in Karnataka and the Chief Minister is already feeling reduced to a clerk.

He attacked the Congress for creating hurdles in the proceedings in the Supreme Court and the Parliament. He said that Congress is delaying the hearing in the Ayodhya case on one pretext or the other through its lawyers. He criticised the Congress for opposing the bills in the Parliament including the NRC and the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

On CBI

Modi said that Congress has no respect for government agencies and that they question the agencies out of fear of being caught. He said that when he was the CM of Gujarat he never stopped the CBI from entering the State. “I never stopped the CBI from entering Gujarat when I was the Chief Minister”, he said. “In 2007, a Congress minister said that Modi will go to jail within a few months. Amit bhai ko to unhone jail mein daal bhi diya tha. But we didn’t form a law to stop CBI from entering Gujarat as we had faith in the law. These people are levelling allegations on agencies because they’re scared,” he added.

The Prime Minister concluded his speech with the slogans of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram” as the party members rose to cheer him.