Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday warned that the BJP should not repeat the same mistakes of the Congress, which led to its ouster from power. Gadkari claimed that the BJP’s unique identity as a party consistently won the trust of voters, while invoking party veteran LK Advani’s observation that “the BJP is a different party”.
Addressing a high-level party meeting in Goa, the minister said, “If we continue to do what the Congress used to do, then their exit and our entry will be of no use.”
Gadkari’s comments came more than a month after the BJP failed to secure a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha elections.
At the Goa BJP executive meeting, attended by party state unit president Sadanand Tanavade and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, the Union Minister referred to his mentor and former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani’s statement that “the BJP is a different party”.
“Advani Ji used to say that we are a different party. We have to understand how different we are from other parties,” Gadkari said, pointing out that people have chosen the BJP because of the Congress’s mistakes.
“If we make the same mistakes, it will be of no use if they go and we come in. Therefore, in the coming days, the party cadres must know that politics is an instrument to bring about social and economic reforms,” the minister was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
He also called for a proper plan for the party to create a “corruption-free country.”
Gadkari also opposed politics based on caste, especially in reference to politics in the neighbouring state of Maharashtra. “I have decided not to follow this trend. I have told people that I will not participate in caste-based politics.”aat-paat). If you want to win, you can use a plastic bag. “Those who talk about castes will receive a strong kick,” he stressed.
