Govt hardsells Brand BJP

If the overt message is Brand India’s successes at this year’s Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, then the sub-text could very well read as ...

If the overt message is Brand India’s successes at this year’s Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, then the sub-text could very well read as Brand BJP. At session after session, as the Government’s luminaries took stage, the subtle message sent out to the NRI, his relatives in India, the TV cameras and army of scribes was that come elections and the NDA would return to power with Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee leading the charge.

Sample this from Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani’s speech when he addressed the session this morning: ‘‘When we go to polls this year, people will give a five-year mandate to Vajpayeeji. I have no doubt about it,’’ he said.

Advani complimented Vajpayee for his vision and ability to provide leadership that enabled India progress on the path to become economic superpower.

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His Cabinet colleagues couldn’t have agreed more. External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, welcoming the delegates at the inaugural session, pointed out: ‘‘The Prime Minister has just returned from a historic summit in Islamabad.’’

The economy is also booming and India has achieved a growth of 8.4 per cent in the second quarter of this fiscal year adding to the feelgood factor. ‘‘This has not happened suddenly,’’ said Advani, but has ‘‘emerged due to economic policies followed by the Government in the past few years… I have no doubt that today it is feel good, tomorrow it will become feel great.’’ With Finance Minister Jaswant Singh raining sops, the Deputy Prime Minister pointed out: ‘‘He (Singh) has also fulfilled the promise of putting more money in the pockets of masses.’’

At other parallel sessions, as ministers made slick multi-media presentations, the message wasn’t lost. Be it Maj Gen B.C. Khanduri (retd), Minister for Road Transport and Highways flashed Vajpayee’s dream project of connecting India or Health and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announcing the setting up of a task-force to give shape to a proposal to make India a sought-after destination for medical tourists.

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