'Carry All Sections Of Our Diverse Society': Vajpayee

In his concluding remarks, the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said that the Bharatiya Janata Party bears the historic responsibility of protecting India's national unity, strengthening national security and ensuring all-round national development. "The Congress party is incapable of discharging this responsibility," he observed 

He called upon the party to rise to the occasion by successfully tackling the immediate political challenges before the Party and, at the same time, focusing on the long-term issues of nation-building. 

"This is not a game of winning a few more seats or winning the elections in this or that State. The Party must always be guided by the lofty goal, for whose attainment we plunged into electoral politics," he exhorted. 

In this context, he stressed the need to make it the BJP's special endeavour "to carry all sections of our diverse society with us". He urged the countrymen to be vigilant against India's enemies abroad who are trying to divide our society on religious lines and "make brother fight brother". Recalling the long period of externally inspired terrorism in Punjab, the Prime Minister said, "We foiled their design by maintaining unity. We should learn from this example and maintain peace and tranquility in the face of the gravest provocation anywhere in the country." 

Vajpayee congratulated the people of Gujarat for giving a renewed mandate to the BJP in the just-concluded Assembly elections. He attributed this victory to "the many decades of tapasya of our workers and the good work done by our Governments". He expressed confidence that the new Government under the chief ministership of Shri Narendra Modi would fulfill the expectations of the people of Gujarat. 

He also  called upon the party to get ready for forthcoming electoral battles in many States in 2003. "While taking up State-specific Issues, we should also highlight the achievements of the NDA Government in the various spheres of development. It takes time for the issue of development to yield electoral benefit, but with sustained and effective communication of the work on the ground, it certainlydoes."