New Delhi: Ahead of the next year’s Lok Sabha election, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) held a marathon meeting with top ministers of the Modi government looking after the economy and related sectors
According to a senior BJP leader, Union Home minister Amit Shah, Labour minister Bhupender Yadav, Commerce and Industries minister Piyush Goyal, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman among others attended the day-long meeting Thursday in Delhi.
Another party leader said that while there were informal consultations between BJP ministers and the RSS at individual levels, the scale of this meeting was ‘different’ and gained significance as it comes days after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in his Vijayadashami speech spoke on ‘Swadeshi’.
Bhagwat, in his speech, had emphasised on self-reliance. “Let’s strengthen our reliance on ‘Swa’, or self, through Swadeshi. Wasteful expenditure ought to stop, too. Employment opportunities in the country should rise, and the country’s money (capital) should be used within, and in the interest of the country itself…,” he had said.
Giving details about Thursday’s talks, a BJP leader said that discussions were also held on strategies to spread information about the economic policies of the Modi government at the grassroot level. “While the public is very well aware of the social welfare schemes of the Centre and the schemes have also been implemented well, the economic revival that the country has witnessed under PM Narendra Modi is something that requires more attention,” said the leader.
“Especially, the way the PM handled the economy post Covid (period) is a story that needs to be taken to each and every corner of the country. The PM’s efforts to revive the economy have been appreciated globally too. It is important to take the story of Bharat’s economy to the people. The several initiatives of this government whether in the banking sector, industry, labour codes..they all need to be highlighted,” a third party leader said.
On his part, PM Modi has been highlighting how India is likely to overtake Japan and Germany to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2030. This week, S&P Global Market Intelligence reported that India is on track to surpass Japan and become the third-largest global economy, with a projected GDP of $7.3 trillion by 2030.
The meeting also comes in the backdrop of the upcoming assembly and the Lok Sabha elections. “The RSS functionaries were informed about the Modi government’s policies related to the economic sector and how efforts have been made to ensure all the beneficiaries are able to avail the schemes. The idea of the meeting was also to make the RSS functionaries and the BJP leaders aware of policies related to the economic sector so that they can then take it forward to the public,” a Sangh affiliate member said.
Sangh affiliates, including Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Swdeshi Jagran Manch, Laghu Udyog Bharati, among others participated in the discussion. The ministers also made a presentation on the policy related work done by their ministries and departments in the last nine years.
The meeting, a BJP leader said, also served as a feedback mechanism wherein the RSS functionaries also shared the impact the welfare schemes of the government has had on the public.
“The country’s economy was in shambles when PM Modi took over in 2014 and since then till now new job opportunities have been created despite challenges such as Covid. These aspects have to be highlighted much better. Initiatives related to ease of doing business in India also need to be stressed,” he added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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