NEW DELHI: During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 75th birthday celebrations on 17 September, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will place its two core issues, 'Swadeshi' and 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', at the centre of a fortnight-long nationwide campaign, 'Sewa Pakhwada', running from September 17 to October 2, coinciding with Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.
Sharing details with the media at a press conference held at the party headquarters on Thursday, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav stated that members of his party, the central government, and BJP-ruled states are all geared up to organise a range of events.
Yadav said, “Modi, in his long tenure as Gujarat chief minister between 2001 and 2014 and then as prime minister, has established politics as a medium of 'sewa' (service) and has worked to alleviate the pain of the masses, take welfare measures to the poor and use technology for effective and transparent governance.”
To carry forward these ideals, the BJP has been organising 'Sewa Pakhwada' to mark its leader's birthday for several years now. Yadav further added that the BJP will work to strengthen the commitment to 'Swadeshi' and 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' in pursuit of building a developed India and connecting with all sections of society.
He also informed the media that the planned programmes would span the birth anniversaries of the party’s ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay on September 25, as well as Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on October 2.
At the same press conference, BJP General Secretary Sunil Bansal also announced that an 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Viksit Bharat' campaign would be launched on Upadhyay’s birth anniversary and continue through to the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on December 25. As part of this extended campaign, exhibitions and fairs will be organised across the country to promote indigenous products and the concept of ‘vocal for local’.
As Prime Minister Modi places strong emphasis on promoting indigenous products, the BJP is anchoring numerous activities aimed at achieving self-reliance, which it considers essential for transforming India into a developed nation by 2047.
Bansal further informed the media that the BJP's youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, will organise the 'Modi Vikas Marathon' on September 21 in over 75 cities. In addition, drawing competitions on 'Viksit Bharat' will be held in more than 75 cities, along with widespread tree-planting drives, blood donation and health check-up camps, and cleanliness campaigns.
This year, the BJP has also introduced interactive sessions with intellectuals in every district. Moreover, meetings with prominent personalities from diverse fields, including sport, science, art, and music, will be held in state capitals during the 'Sewa Pakhwada'. To promote Swadeshi, BJP members will also engage in a large-scale purchasing of Khadi on October 2.