New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief J. P. Nadda on Saturday urged party members to take inspiration from party stalwart and former Delhi chief minister Madan Lal Khurana in order to bring the party back to power in Delhi.
“There is a lot to learn from his life. He [Khurana] was Delhi’s ‘sher’ [tiger]. Earlier, bureaucrats would run Delhi. He was the one who did a political intervention in Delhi and established a political identity in Delhi. When we remember him we should not just pay tribute to him, but be inspired from his life,” BJP national president J. P. Nadda said, delivering the first Madan Lal Khurana memorial lecture at Delhi’s Nehru Memorial Museum and Library on the leader’s 86th birth anniversary.
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“We need to re-awaken the fighting spirit and be inspired from his struggles in the time to come. When Modiji is revered across the country, we are asked why we are not in power in Delhi?” BJP national executive Nand Kishore Garg said. “Let us all work together to bring BJP back in power in Delhi and that would be our tribute to Khurana.”
Nadda was the chief guest at the event which was attended by BJP Delhi president Adesh Gupta, Khurana’s wife Raj Khurana, and Delhi MPs Ramesh Bhiduri, Manoj Tiwary, Harsh Vardhan among others.
A member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Khurana was the chief minister of Delhi from 1993 to 1996. Rising from his days of student politics in the Allahabad University in the 60s, he is credited with reviving the BJP in Delhi which earned him the title of ‘Dilli ka Sher‘ (The Lion of Delhi). The BJP leader died on 27 October 2018 due to a brain hemorrhage.
At the same event, BJP national executive member Nand Kishore Garg said Khurana was different than other leaders due to his grip on ground politics. “He would visit the slums, go to places like Govindpuri and engage with the people providing them with ration cards,” Garg said, asserting that it was this connection that led to the BJP’s revival in Delhi.
Reminiscing about the trio of Kedar Nath Sahani, Vijay Kumar Malhotra and Khurana, he said that members of BJP need to take an oath at this event to revive the party in Delhi and bring it back in power.
The event also saw a clip of Khurana’s political journey being played out for the audience. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent out a letter honouring the ex-chief minister which was read out at the venue by Khurana’s grandson.
Among those who spoke at the event were senior leaders O.P. Babbar and Harshvardhan. Former Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel said that Delhi and its people were gods for Khurana and that he was ‘a pujari of the mandir that is Delhi ‘.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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