‘JAN AASHIRWAD YATRA’ IS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY: TARUN CHUGH

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BJP National General Secretary Shri Tarun Chugh, who is known for his frankness and sensibility handled many responsibilities in the ABVP and later in the BJP as its National Secretary before assuming the charge of National General Secretary of the Party.

In an exclusive interview with Kamal Sandesh Associate Editors
Ram Prasad Tripathy & Sanjeev Kumar Sinha, Shri Chugh discussed about the thought behind the grand plan of ‘Jan Aashirwad Yatra’ and its remarkable success. Shri Chugh, who was National In-Charge of the ‘Jan Aashirwad Yatra’ said, “This Yatra is the first of its kind in the political history of the country”. Excerpts;

Allow me at the outset to congratulate you for the massive success of the ‘Jan Aashirwad Yatra’ organised by BJP in various states across the country. As the National In-Charge of the Yatra can you please tell a little about the thought behind this grand programme and its objectives?

After the induction of new ministers in the Modi government, Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, as per the established democratic tradition, had wished to introduce his new members to both the Houses of Parliament. However, the unruly opposition did not allow the Prime Minister to introduce the Union Ministers to the Houses.

In each and every scheme of Modi government the focal points are our villages, poor, dalits, deprived, backward classes, youth and women

You know, the present Council of Ministers of Modi government is the most inclusive in independent India’s history, where people from various castes, creed, language, religion, class, sex, age-groups, and social-groups are represented. The opposition, by breaking this tradition showed disregard towards the representatives from the backward classes, women and other marginalized sections. This is an insult to the people and to the Parliamentary Democratic system of this country.

Then Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi took a decision to introduce the new ministers to the people in a novel way. What better way for the newly inducted ministers than reaching out to the people and meet them as representatives of the government?

In each and every scheme of Modi government the focal points are our villages, poor, dalits, deprived, backward classes, youth and women. Modi government’s commitment and the Mantra is ‘SabkaSaath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas’. Our belief is to foster all-round development and growth of India. Therefore, our ministers are visiting the nook and corner of the country to spread the development message done by the Modi government in last seven years, and this is the central objective behind this grand programme.

Can you give details about the ‘Jan Aashirwad Yatra’?

As per the decision of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to reach out to the last man of the society, the ‘Jan Aashirwad Yatra’ started from 16 August, 2021 and calumniated after 14 days. During the Yatra the newly included 39 Union Ministers went to their respective States, directly connected with citizens and took their blessings.

‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ covered around 24,173 kms and 265 districts of 212 Lok Sabha seats of 22 States. During the 14 days, over 5,035 programmes were organised and around 25 lakh people directly participated in the Yatra.

Usually Yatras are organized for the purpose of election-campaign or for any political event or to protest against an issue. But, here the purpose of this Yatra was totally different. This was not for any political issue or focused on elections.

Have you ever heard in the political history of India that ministers who just joined the government are visiting and connecting with the people to know and directly understand the citizen’s problems? We know leaders once elected are rarely seen in their constituencies or with the people. However, to allow the newly inducted ministers to directly connect with the public and understand their problems was the key motive behind this programme. The Yatra went as per the plan and Union Ministers got blessings from millions of citizens of the country.

How was the public response to the ‘Jan Aashirwad Yatra’?

The ‘Jan Aashirwad Yatra’ turned out to be a grand success. This form of mass contact is the first of its kind in the history of India. The people of India across the states warmly welcomed the new Ministers and lauded Prime Minister Shri Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party government for remaining committed to all-round development of the country.

As I mentioned, around 5000 programmes were organised and all these events were highly successful with enthusiastic participation of people from all walks of life.
Under the guidance of BJP National President Shri JP Nadda a team was formed consisting BJP National Secretaries Shri Vinod Sonkar, Shri Satya Kumar, Smt. Pankaja Munde, Shri Sunil Deodhar, Shri Arvind Menon and others. This team worked very hard to make the Yatra successful but the entire credit of the success of the ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra‘ goes to the people of India, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s achievements and commitment for all-round development of the country, and ‘Sangathan Silpi’ Shri Jagat Prakas Nadda’s meticulous planning for this Yatra.

‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ covered around 24,173 kms and 265 districts of 212 Lok Sabha seats of 22 States. During the 14 days, over 5,035 programmes were organised and around 25 lakh people directly participated in the Yatra

How significant is the ‘Jan Aashirwad Yatra’ for the spread of BJP organisation in every part of the country?

Starting from ‘Jan Dhan Yojna’, ‘Swachh Bharat’ ‘Ujjwala’, ‘Awas Yojna’ and through hundreds of other social welfare schemes, the Prime Minister is committed to providing benefits to each and every section of our society, particularly to those who are left behind in the race of growth and the poorest of the poor of the country.
Secondly, under the able leadership of BJP National President Shri JP Nadda, the party is fully geared up to fulfill the dream of our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi by involving the whole organisation in it. For that the BJP is creating awareness among the masses to take the benefits of these welfare schemes continuously through different programmes.

Finally, during the rule of other opposition parties, people had to come to the government but now during the Modi-government, the Union Ministers are reaching the door steps of the public, and this is the difference between BJP government and other governments in the country. It is for this reason that both the government and the party are getting whole hearted blessings of all sections of the people and the ‘Jan Aashirwad Yatra’ has only proven this fact.