PM Modi speaks to BJP chief Amit Shah during a BJP office bearers' meeting held in Bengaluru on April 2. (Agence France-Presse)
The BJP should not become a "corridors of power party" and should instead "use the power of 9 crore members," Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the party's office-bearers on Thursday.
"These 9 crore members are the real owners of the party, which is supreme," said PM Modi, reminding them that the government was only a tool to achieve the objective of serving the society.
The Prime Minister was meeting with party workers and office-bearers ahead of the BJP's two-day national executive meet in Bengaluru.
In his 45-minute address, PM Modi congratulated party president Amit Shah and the workers for the campaign that enlisted over 9 crore members. But he asked party leaders to utilise the power of that membership.
"Political power comes from welfare of common man. It should be used for the public," he said, asking that the partymen create a connect between the government, party and social good.
The new members, he said, should be roped into party work, especially the various social initiatives by the government.
The Prime Minister had arrived in Bengaluru earlier on Thursday for the two-day conclave that will finalise the strategy for the centerpiece of the government's economic reform - how to make land purchases easier for industrial corridors roads, ports power stations, among other infrastructure projects.
Mr Modi will address a public rally on Friday with a message for farmers that the NDA's land bill is not anti-farmer.