‘No havans or cake cutting’: BJP draws plan to mark PM Modi’s birthday

The BJP is gearing up to celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on September 17 by marking it as Sewa Pakhwada, a 15-day service activity programme that will continue till October 2.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is gearing up to celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on September 17 by marking it as Sewa Pakhwada, a 15-day service activity programme that will continue till October 2.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (ANI)

BJP president JP Nadda held a videoconference on Sunday with all party parliamentarians to brief them on how to mark the event. ‘‘Naddaji told us very strictly that there should be no pujas or havans to mark the occasion, and also no cake cutting,’’ a BJP Lok Sabha MP said on condition of anonymity. ‘’We should focus on holding talks, telling people about our work and organise blood donation camps.’

BJP national general secretary Arun Singh on Tuesday wrote a letter to all party office bearers regarding the Sewa Pakhwada programme. The party will be organizing exhibitions at the state and district levels on Modi’s life and mission. It also plans to publicise Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery, and organise blood donation camps.

The letter detailed how free medical check-up camps would be organized along with distribution of artificial limbs and equipment. The party will also run a yearlong programme to make the country free of tuberculosis, under which party workers will adopt a TB patient and will take care of her for a year. “Our party workers at every mandal and ward should adopt TB patients and take care of their treatment and nutrition for at least one year as a part of sewa programme,” Singh said in the letter.

“Stalls should be organised outside vaccination centres, service activities should be undertaken and unvaccinated people should be mobilised to vaccination centres if needed,” he said.

BJP will also organise a tree plantation programme. “All mandals are to organize a cleanliness drive for two days. Day one for cleanliness drive at the public places followed by cleaning drive of ongoing and under construction Amrit Sarovars the next day,” the letter read. The Prime Minister in April launched the Amrit Sarovar initiative under which at least 75 water bodies will be developed and rejuvenated in every district.

The festival of Unity in Diversity should be organised in every district and the message of Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat (One India, Best India) should be taken to the society at large, Singh had said. “The state office bearers should celebrate Unity in Diversity by adopting language, attire and food of any other state chosen by them for a day,” Singh’s letter said.

The party will also be organising intellectual meets and seminars on Modi’s life, vision, policies and achievements in every district.

The party will also be paying floral tributes to Deendayal Upadhyaya on his birth anniversary on September 25. On October 2, the BJP will be conducting a campaign to create awareness on the mission of Mahatma Gandhi on swadeshi, khadi, simplicity, self-reliance and cleanliness.

The party has formed a five-member committee at the state level and a three-member team at district level to implement these initiative. A team has also been formed at the central level to monitor the effective implementation of Sewa Pakhwada.