New Delhi: Comparing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, BJP national president Nitin Nabin Monday said that the PM’s past comment about Nabin being his boss was meant to reflect the party’s team culture.
“We work as a team. When Modi ji said that, he was reflecting the spirit and culture of the BJP. His message was that even a Prime Minister as a karyakarta (worker) works within the guidance of the party organisation and its president. This is the strength of our system,” Nabin said while addressing the Viksit Bharat Student Conclave in Telangana.
Earlier this year in January, Modi had said that when it comes to the party, Nitin Nabin is “the boss”. He made the remark when the 45-year-old Bihar leader took over from J.P. Nadda as the party’s national president.
Nabin was quizzed about his working relationship with PM Modi and specifically about the “boss” comment. “It is like cricket. Sachin Tendulkar was a great player, but he still played under different captains with full discipline and team spirit. In the same way, in the BJP, every person, no matter how senior, works with commitment, discipline and respect for the organisation,” he said.
The BJP national president further said that when India won the cricket World Cup, there were several good players, but the captain is the one who keeps the team together.
“We have seen Sachin Tendulkar and have also seen his captaincy. I believe that PM Modi’s clear message was that the (party) president is a leader of the party who must bind everyone together. And I believe PM Modi hinted at what team spirit is: that the PM of the country can also work with (as) a team member alongside the (party) president; he made this thought clear.”
Nabin added: “That means even if Sachin Tendulkar also…when India won the World Cup, there was great leadership from Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and that leadership was team spirit. Modi Ji gave a clear message to all such people that the captain gives direction and has the power. No matter how many players there are, they all have to move in one direction, only then is the team successful.”
Telangana state president N Ramchander Rao, Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, MP Aruna D.K, MP Rekha Sharma, national general secretary Sunil Bansal also attended the Viksit Bharat Student Conclave at Vignana Bharati Institute of Technology, Ghatkesar, Hyderabad, where Nabin was speaking.
‘Those trying to mislead Gen Z must understand…’
The BJP president further said that no one was asking what Gen Z truly wants and claimed that some opposition forces wanted to incite the youth by copying so-called Gen Z movements from other countries. He also said that Indian youth are not anti-establishment.
“But Indian youth are not anti-establishment. Indian youth do not believe in anarchy. They believe in nation-building. Gen Z is not the tukde-tukde mindset. Real Gen Z is the youth sitting here — young Indians who are contributing to the growth, innovation and future of Bharat,” Nabin was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the state unit.
He further said that governments may come and go, “but the bigger question is: in which direction should the country move? Those who are trying to mislead and incite the youth must understand that Indian youth will never allow foreign forces or negative agendas to dictate India’s future”.
Citing the example of Kashmir, Nabin said previously the image of Kashmir’s youth was linked to stone pelting which has changed now. “But in the Modi era, the youth of Kashmir are moving forward in education, sports and national service. Today, Kashmir’s youth are winning on the cricket field, competing in Ranji, and making the nation proud. This is the real Gen Z — not the stone pelter, but the nation-builder.”
Earlier, Nabin had said that if one can channel Gen-Z’s energy toward a constructive process, it can hold tremendous potential. He had made these remarks while interacting with a delegation of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) of Nepal, led by chairman Rabi Lamichhane earlier this month.
During his visit to Uttarakhand in June, Nabin had said that while some people try to define Gen‑Z through anti‑establishment or negative terminology, in a vast country like India, such negative terminology will not have any lasting impact.
“India’s youth will not move in a negative direction, because they understand what is right and what is wrong.”
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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