'Don't Rebuke Muslims, Empower Them,' Says PM Modi At BJP Conclave: Highlights

Kozhikode, Kerala: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay's 100th birth anniversary said the government will follow his teachings and ratify the Paris climate deal on October 2. Quipping that Mahatma Gandhi's time had the smallest carbon footprint, he said India will be at the forefront in fight against climate change.

Here are the highlights of his speech:

• On this day Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay was chosen the leader of Bhartiya Jan Sangh.
• 50 years later we are back in the same town to mark the day
• Bhartiya Jan Sangh became Bhartiya Janta Party.
• BJP has never compromised with its ideology.
• Standards of politics fell a lot after independence.
• It creates a lot of danger for democracy.
• It is not true that all hope is lost. Ideals are still alive
• If Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya's principles can be carried ahead, we have more of those people who can do that.
• But we have to be constantly careful and work hard not to catch the same diseases as other parties
• Some people misunderstand us, some people deliberately misrepresent us
• Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya used to say, at a time when nationalism was looked at in negative light and the question was how minorities were treated, said
  don't reward Muslims, don't rebuke Muslims, empower them. Don't think of them as vote banks or commodities, think of them as your own
• Our motto is the same, 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas'. We want the most underprivileged to be the first to progress
• Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya said that for equality, those higher up need to reach down and pull up the rest of the society.
• If any part of India remains underdeveloped, the country will not progress in reality
• The way we are exploiting natural resources is bring about our doom
• The world is trying to debate how to stop temperatures from rising by 2 degrees
• Because if the temperature rises by 2 degrees, all coastal regions will be affected - even Kerala
• Today I want to declare to the world that India will ratify the resolutions of COP21 on October 2. Because Mahatma Gandhi's had smallest carbon footprint.
• BJP is a cadre-based mass party. Today we have 11 crore members, if we can convert them into 11 crore cadres. We can change the flow of the countries politics and administration forever.
• Workers of Kerala have made great sacrifices. They are an inspiration
• There should be seminars on this every few years
• We will never leave the paths and ideals of democracy.