BJP to hold conference of its mayors on Sardar Patel's birth anniversary

NEW DELHI: BJP is set to appropriate Sardar Patel’s name yet again by holding a conference of its mayors across the country on his birth anniversary as a tribute to the late Congress leader who served as mayor of Ahmedabad, years before he became India’s first home minister.

The good governance department of BJP is working on a two-day workshop for party members who hold the offices of mayors and chairpersons of standing committees of corporations across the country to discuss ways of improving delivery of public services and dealing with the roadblocks encountered by municipal bodies.

"I suggested the idea of this workshop to the Prime Minister when I met him recently and the worker’s instinct in him led Narendra Modi to say that it should be held on October 31, the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, who was also a mayor once," BJP national secretary Sidharth Nath Singh told ET.

The workshop is expected to take place in Hyderabad on October 31 and November 1 although the venue has still to be finalised. Around 130-140 mayors and chairpersons of standing committees of corporations are expected to attend it.

Urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu will address the mayors and look into their grievances and suggestions. Efforts are on to persuade Modi and FM Arun Jaitley to attend the programme.

"The aim of the conference is to get feedback from the participants and to look at ways of strengthening the position of the mayor and the municipal bodies," Singh said.

BJP’s good governance department, headed by party vice president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, had earlier organised a two-day workshop for education and culture ministers from nine party ruled states to discuss issues in these fields.