On the second day of the BJP National Convention, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is speaking to nearly 12,000 party members at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan. The party's national convention, months ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, is the "biggest ever" gathering of BJP members which comes in the backdrop of the proposed grand alliance of opposition parties.
Speaking at the national convention on Friday, BJP chief Amit Shah called the 2019 elections a "battle of ideologies" and compared it to the third battle of Panipat between Marathas and the Afghan army fought in the 1761. He dismissed the opposition parties' proposed grand alliance as a farce and said that the alliance is a disparate group that has been brought together by their greed of power.
The convention also passed a resolution on development in rural areas, even as the opposition accused the government of "betraying" farmers amid protests by various farm organisations in different parts of the country.
Here are the highlights from Day 2 of the BJP National Convention:
BJP president Amit Shah on Friday said that the upcoming Lok Sabha elections were like the third battle of Panipat between Marathas and the Afghan army fought in the 1761. Saying that the election results will be equally significant for the country, Mr Shah added that the polls would be "a battle of ideologies"
"Within 1.5 yrs, UP government has given houses to 18 lakh poor individuals, irrespective of their caste or religion, under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Under Samajwadi Party government, only 63,000 houses were built in 5 years of rule."
"We have not had one major terrorist attack in this country after 2014. This government under the leadership of PM Modi has ensured one thing that there shall not be an opportunity for terrorists to disturb peace."
"Non-performance and corruption were the features of the previous government. But after we came to power, good governance, ease of business and development has been delivered by PM Modi and our government in 4.5 years, just as we promised in our manifesto"