'Don't give masala to media': Prime Minister Narendra Modi urges BJP leaders to refrain from making irresponsible statements

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked party leaders to refrain from making “irresponsible” statements, saying their responsibility has risen as public support has increased for the BJP. “We commit mistakes and give masala to media. The moment we see a camera person, we jump to make a statement as if we are great social scientists or intellectuals. Then these ill-informed statements are used by media and the party’s image takes a beating. It is not the media’s fault”, Modi said according to the Indian Express. The prime minister made these statement while having a video interaction with BJP MPs and MLAs through the NaMo App. Modi’s comments come after Union minister and BJP leader Santosh Gangwar said that “brouhaha” should not be created over one or two rape cases in a big country like India. “Such incidents (rape cases) are the unfortunate situation… But sometimes you can’t stop them. Government is active everywhere and taking action which is visible to everyone, " he told reporters in Bareilly on Saturday.

Modi also underlined the support the BJP received from backward sections of the society. He noted that BJP had the maximum number of elected lawmakers from OBC, Dalit and tribal communities, and asserted that its reach was no longer confined to a particular class, urban centres or north India. These comments assume significance in the wake of Opposition parties’ attempts to put up a united front against the saffron party over Dalit issues and also criticism of some BJP leaders for making irresponsible statements. [caption id=“attachment_4441731” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. AP[/caption] The perception about the BJP that it was a party of a particular class and urban centres or north India has changed and it has emerged as an “all-touching and all-inclusive” organisation, Modi said. “Our mass base is increasing among all sections of the society and this is our biggest asset,” the party statement quoted him as saying. Taking on the criticism that his government had not created enough jobs, he said lifestyle and sources of livelihood have changed in villages as he emphasised his government’s efforts to boost self-employment.“Those doing politics over employment figure may do so but the government will provide the masses with self-employment opportunities by developing skills of the youth”, Modi said. Modi asked party workers to work to spread harmony in villages and bring development to the poor, farmers, Dalits and tribals. Talking of his government’s ambitious health insurance scheme, ‘Ayushmaan Bharat’, he said wellness centres will be built in over 1.5 lakh panchayats by 2022 with the programme aiming to cover 10 crore families with a cover of Rs 5 lakh. He also made a mention of several of his government’s welfare schemes aimed at farmers, youths and women among others and asked his party’s lawmakers to spread their reach. Regarding Modi’s next interaction with BJP leaders, he is slated to speak to the party workers of poll-bound Karnataka through the video bridge technology on 26 April. With inputs from agencies