Core Issues

1. DEVELOPMENT

When a political party talks of development, it often talks of roads, ports, GDP growth, stock markets, agriculture, exports and international trade, among other issues. To the BJP, however, development is all this and much more. At its core, the BJP’s concept of progress means Indians experiencing change that enables them to fulfil their potential trigger an overall improvement in their daily lives and well-being. With this primary agenda, the party that’s armed with an incorruptible and progressive leadership aims to transform and empower the weakest and the most neglected sections of Indian society, without any biases for caste, creed or religion.

Today, the BJP is the only political party in India that respects merit and follows true secularism that says ‘Justice and development to all, appeasement to none’.

As our party’s prime-ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi ji has already emphasised working on the principle of ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’ should BJP form the government in New Delhi. The Government’s role and involvement in non-essential sectors will be reduced; cutting red tape and the bureaucratic license raj will be an article of faith. These have impeded our growth and bred corruption.

Some of the changes we propose are very fundamental and basic, but will lead to India taking off in a high-growth trajectory. For instance, we will reward area and domain experts in the field of policy making that will ensure that the problems of today and the distant future are already accounted for. India once used to be called the ‘Golden Bird’ because of its indigenous production base and self-reliance; we will bring such policies that take us back on the path of being self-reliant in manufacturing, defence, agro-processing and allied services sector among others. Today’s India is a young India, where the people are willing to work hard with an assurance of being masters of their own destiny. Our model of development will let them write their own destinies, where even the weakest Indian has a just and fair chance of making it big through sheer dedication and determination.

This is the idea of development that the BJP envisages. A united nation where every citizen gets an equal share of opportunities; where merit and hard work is respected. Each citizen is an agent of economic change and productivity. As 1.25 billion such economic agents work together as a single well-oiled machinery, there will be no milestone beyond reach.

2. SECURITY

Security isn’t only what soldiers fight and put their lives at risk for in a distant, forbidding frontier, far from the spotlight; it is also what each one of us, every man and particularly women, experiences while stepping out of home. To the BJP, the concept of security is a dynamic one that has many emerging challenges and opportunities. However, the most important thing for a strong and secure India is a robust economy. No nationalist government at the Centre can avoid paying attention to the Indian economy, as each time we do that we leave India exposed to enemies, both external and internal. High GDP growth and economic development is fundamental to the idea of Indian security.

For the BJP, the concept of national security is a holistic one that has several aspects. First, India needs to cut down its excessive reliance on foreign arms manufacturers and focus its energies on indigenisation and becoming a manufacturer of technologies and equipment that can be used by our military. Not only will this effort save us crucial foreign exchange but also lead to generation of millions of jobs that will act as a booster for the Indian economy.

Internally, India needs a stronger and state-of-the-art police force with a much bigger presence of women. The BJP is committed to modernisation of police forces across Indian states and will extend whatever assistance, motivation and help is required to achieve this goal. The party feels that a greater participation of women in the state police forces and an integration of modern investigation and forensic techniques and technology will keep in check some of the most important issues that confront us today – the safety of women, children and the elderly.

India also needs to prepare itself for the future wars that will be fought in the virtual world. This is an area of concern for India, which, despite its undisputed leadership in the IT and services sector, hasn’t been able to keep pace with developments in other countries. We need to hire, train and prepare ‘armies’ of such young Indians who will ensure safety of our assets in the virtual world.

It isn’t surprising that many of these changes would also have a direct and positive impact on the Indian economy that will lead to further empowerment of a strong, united India. The vision the BJP projects gives significant weightage to security, and works towards strengthening it, both externally and internally.

3. GOOD GOVERNANCE

The BJP’s definition of good governance is a administration where even the weakest and the most vulnerable sections of society have an equal stake in charting the country’s growth. Everything starts and progresses from this single idea. Today, the BJP is the only true merit-based democratic political party in India. In governance, the BJP is committed to the ideals of transparency, efficiency and responsiveness. Time and again, the party has demonstrated its commitment towards these principles, wherever it has been voted to power.

With the BJP at the helm, the Indian voters can look forward to a clean government, free of corruption and scandal; a leadership that hasn’t reached on top on the basis of connections and cronyism, but on the basis of years of unrelenting work for the masses and a youthful leadership that is in sync with contemporary India.

Our model of good governance ensures that even the tallest leaders and top bureaucrats are answerable to an ordinary citizen, hailing from any part of India. The government believes in operating in complete transparency, with every file and official record open for public scrutiny, except when these may endanger national security. The BJP’s ascendancy is an antidote to whatever has troubled the Indian political system over the last six decades– crony capitalism, feudalism, favouritism and archaic methods of governance. For us, governance is a mission that isn’t complete without proactive involvement of the citizens of India. We strive to provide a clean and efficient government that invites proactive participation and involvement of citizens at every step.

4. NATION FIRST

A firm belief in the ideal that a truly rich and diverse nation like India is optimally united when its people give precedence to their identity as ‘Indians before everything else’ is what led to the birth of the BJP. The party’s staunch commitment to this principle is what has ensured its unparalleled rise to becoming one of the largest, most representative political parties in India.

The BJP believes in true ‘National’ politics, where every Indian, irrespective of his caste, creed or religion is an Indian first. It doesn’t believe in narrow politics of compartmentalisation and division of society. The party’s agenda is to unite people on the basis of their love for the country. Primacy to this identity is what will once again chart the path for India’s re-emergence as a cultural and economic superpower.

This should also be looked at in light of BJP’s core commitment to its guiding philosophy of ‘Integral Humanism’, which considers all Indians as one united entity. Our leadership has walked this path for years and believes that it will ensure our precious energies aren’t wasted in petty differences. Keeping the interest of the nation above everything else is what will ensure a united and powerful India, wherein each one of its 1.25 billion citizens contributes in his or her unique way, and fulfils his or her unique dream.