Party MPs believe the move can have a huge impact on next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
New Delhi: After Parliament passed the bill giving constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes, the BJP is set to milk it ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked each party MP to organise approximately 50 sabhas (public meetings) in his/her own constituency, taking credit for passing the long-delayed legislation.
At a meeting of the BJP parliamentary party, the PM told MPs to present to their constituents a timeline of the bill.
The BJP has been under attack from opposition parties on issues pertaining to Dalits and OBCs, and this plan is seen as a clear attempt to change the perception among the backward classes.
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The parliamentary party meeting was significant for another reason — for the first time, OBC MPs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Hukumdev Narayan Yadav spoke before the PM, praising the government for its action.
The party also plans to celebrate ‘social justice fortnight’ from 15-30 August. From next year, it will observe 1-9 August as ‘social justice week’ to celebrate the passage of this bill.
A senior party MP said the exercise could have bearing on next year’s Lok Sabha polls.
“Imagine the impact when one MP will hold 50 such events, and brief people — especially from OBC communities — about the historic achievement of the Modi government. This bill was pending for a long time under various governments,” the MP said on the condition of anonymity.
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PM shames MPs
The PM also took a dig at MPs who agree to implement his ideas at such meetings, but fail to carry it through. It was a clear message to those whose attendance in Parliament has been low, and who have not been following the PM’s instructions.
When this time the PM asked whether the MPs would take the achievement to the people, every MP gave his/her assent.