PM Modi wants 100 per cent implementation of govt schemes

With an eye on elections in key states, including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat, as well as the main electoral battle of 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said that since it has ushered an era of “politics of performance,” all its chief ministers must focus on “governance” and make their states an effective instrument for execution of the Centre’s “pro-poor” agenda.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the meeting of party’s chief ministers, deputy CMs and party chiefs, asked the BJP leaders to get into “mission mode” to ensure “100 per cent” implementation of all Central schemes. The party’s parliamentary board members also attended the meeting.

With farmers, women empowerment, youth and employment, good governance and Swachchh Bharat the main focus of the meeting, the BJP also formed a committee to finalise the agenda for the welfare of poor for adoption by party-ruled states.

Exhorting BJP leaders to work on multiple fronts to develop their states at a fast rate, Mr Modi said they should not move from one project after finishing another, but instead take up several programmes together.

Touching on the fact that the two medals won by India at Rio Olympics were claimed by women, he underlined the need for women’s empowerment. “Our daughters have proved how capable they are,” Mr Modi said.

Earlier, in his inaugural speech, party president Amit Shah told the BJP leaders that states are the “vehicles” for the successful implementation of flagship Central schemes like Jan Dhan, urban and rural housing, Mudra and health and life insurance.

Noting that the party rules over 51 per cent of the country’s landmass and 37 per cent population, Mr Shah said that states will play a key role in the success of the Modi government’s welfare policies as they are responsible for executing 65 of the 80 such schemes launched by it.

“BJP has started in the country an era of politics of performance. The state governments of the BJP have been re-elected time and again on the basis of perfomance... It is the joint responsibility of the Central and state governments that we together build a pro-poor welfare state and change the life of the common man,” he said.

“The country and the world can feel a new India. If we can bring out a change in states ruled by us, then a big part of the country can experience good governance,” he said.

This was the second meeting this week where both the Prime Minister and party president Amit Shah asked party leaders to focus on governance.

Later, briefing the media about the meeting, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said a presentation was made by the BJP-ruled states of their work and what they plan to do, especially in the field of agriculture, women’s empowerment and employment.

Mr Fadvanis said governance and not politics was the agenda of the meeting, when asked if recent controversies or UP elections also figured in the deliberations.

Mr Fadnavis said chief ministers also deliberated over whether they can arrive at a common threshold, which he defined as a set of schemes which all the party-rules states can roll out fully. The use of information technology to simplify the government’s work was also discussed.

He said a review of the party-run state governments was done and they were all doing “very well”.

All chief ministers except Vasundhara Raje of Rajasthan attended the meet. Ms Raje, who is said to be unwell, was represented by senior ministers.

The chief ministers’ meet was divided into six segments, including inaugural session, the agenda of welfare of poor, presentation by CMs of successful schemes that can be replicated in other states, presence of BJP governments on social media, challenges and efforts to take them on and concluding ceremony.

Later, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told reporters that party leadership wanted “Garib Kalyan” schemes to focus on providing basic amenities.

Mr Chouhan, Mr Fadnavis, Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das and senior leader Vinaya Sahasrabuddhe are members of the “Garib Kalyan Agenda” committee, which will submit its report within two weeks.