Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday stressed that the BJP has distinguished itself as a party of integrity, which has consistently earned the trust of voters.
However, he warned that the BJP should not repeat the mistakes of the Congress, which led to its loss of power in the past. PTI reported.
“If we continue to do what the Congress used to do, then their exit and our entry will be of no use,” Gadkari stressed in comments that came more than a month after the BJP failed to secure a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha elections.
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At an executive meeting of the Goa BJP near Panaji, attended by state unit president Sadanand Tanavade and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant among other leaders, Nitin Gadkari delivered a 40-minute speech. During his address, the Union minister recalled his mentor and former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani’s assertion that “the BJP is a different party”.
“Advaniji used to say that we are a different party. We have to understand how different we are from other parties,” the former BJP president said.
The Lok Sabha MP from Nagpur said people had elected the BJP because of the Congress’s mistakes and warned that his party should not make the same mistakes.
“If we make the same mistakes, then there will be no point in their exit and our entry,” Gadkari said.
“Therefore, in the coming days, party cadres must know that politics is an instrument to achieve social and economic reforms,” he said.
Gadkari stressed that “We (BJP) have to create a corruption-free country and for that we must have a plan in place.”
Referring to politics in neighbouring Maharashtra, Gadkari argued that in his home state there is a tendency to play politics on caste lines (Jativadi Rajkaran).
“I have decided not to follow this trend. I have told people that I will not participate in caste-based politics (jaat-paat). If you want to win, you can use a plastic bag. “(Whoever talks about caste will get a strong kick),” he warned. Gadkari said a person is known by the values he possesses and not by his caste. In a message addressed to the Goa BJP cadres, Gadkari urged them to visit all constituencies and strengthen the organisation so that the party can retain power after the 2027 assembly elections.
(With contributions from agencies)
