Congress attempt to "defame" PM Narendra Modi, JNU row to figure at BJP meet

NEW DELHI: The "disinformation" campaign by Congress to "defame" the Modi government, Ishrat Jahan and JNU rows, besides the "pro-poor and rural-centric" budget will be the key issues on the agenda at BJP's two-day National Executive meet beginning here on March 19.

"The opposition, especially Congress, has been exposed in the last 20 months over a host of issues, be it returning of awards by a section of intelligentsia or JNU row where it chose to side with anti-national forces. These will come up for discussion," a party leader said.

Elections to five state assemblies in April-May will be part of the deliberations during which Uttar Pradesh, which will go to the polls early next year and where BJP's stakes are high, may also figure.

The need to inform the masses about the "pro-poor and pro-village" aspects of the budget will be stressed upon at the meeting, party sources said, adding that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will be the main speaker on the issue.

The party's office-bearers will meet on Saturday and the much-larger Executive will go into a huddle in the afternoon.

Party chief Amit Shah will set the tone for the exercise with his inaugural address to the Executive. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the valedictory session on Sunday, they said.

The event will provide the party yet another opportunity to project its hardline nationalist credentials in the wake of the JNU row.

All top party leaders, including Shah, had hit out at Congress, particularly its vice president Rahul Gandhi, over the issue at a Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha convention recently.

"We believe that the issue has highlighted Congress' increasing ideological hollowness and that it can take up any cause in its desperation to target the government," sources said.

The recent revelations in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case will also provide ammunition to the party to attack Congress.