400 paar: BJP’s list of claims on what it will do with such a number

‘Preserving Constitution’

It was the BJP’s Uttar Kannada MP Anantkumar Hegde who set off the Constitution claims, counter-claims when, speaking at an event on March 10 in Siddapur, he said, “Constitution has to be amended as Congress people have fundamentally altered it by introducing some unnecessary things. Especially laws that subjugate the Hindu community. If all this has to change, it cannot be done without a two-third majority.”

He went on to explain the numbers required to amend the preamble of the Constitution.

“Modi said — Ab ki baar 400 paar (This time it will be above 400 seats) — Why above 400?…We have two-third majority in Lok Sabha, (but) in Rajya Sabha we don’t have two-third majority. We have a small majority. In state governments, we don’t have an adequate majority,” Hegde said.

He said NDA winning more than 400 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls would eventually help in mustering a similar majority in the Rajya Sabha, and coming to power in two-thirds of the states.

Distancing itself from the MP’s remarks, the Karnataka BJP said these were his personal views and do not reflect the party’s stance. It said the BJP “reaffirms our unwavering commitment to uphold the nation’s Constitution and will ask for an explanation from Shri Hegde regarding his comments.”

‘Retaining Art 370, Ram Temple’

Speaking in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone and Dhar districts on May 7, the PM said he needed 400 seats so that the Congress would not succeed in its plan to put the “Babri lock” on the Ram Temple in Ayodhya or bring back Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The Congress is spreading lies (over changes in the Constitution)… Don’t they know that from 2019 to 2024… the NDA-plus alliance already had the support of around 400 seats… Modi needs 400 seats so the Congress cannot bring back Article 370 in Kashmir and create trouble. Modi needs 400 seats so the Congress cannot put the Babri lock on the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya,” he said in Dhar.

In Khargone, he said, “India is at a crucial juncture in history. You have to decide whether there will be ‘vote jihad’ in India or ‘Ram Rajya’.”

‘Bolstering economy’

Speaking in Maharashtra’s Palghar WHEN, Union Home Minister Amit Shah framed the 400-plus majority as a means to develop the economy.

“Choose the BJP, and it’s Modi’s Guarantee that we will soon turn Bharat into an economic superpower. It’s only the Modi government which can make Bharat safe, secure, developed and prosperous in a true manner. To realise all our dreams, we should ensure ‘400 Paar’,” he said.

Preserving heritage’

Union Panchayati Raj Minister Giriraj Singh, known for his controversial remarks, told news agency ANI on Wednesday: “Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had betrayed Hindus. When we get 400 plus, we will take the development and our heritage like Kashi, Mathura and Ayodhya to newer heights…”

‘Getting Pok’

“PoK will be merged with India if the BJP gets over 400 seats in the Lok Sabha polls,” Sarma said in Jharkhand Wednesday. He added that the target was also needed for the BJP to build the ‘Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi’ temple and ‘Gyanvapi temple’, and implement the UCC, “just like when it crossed the 300-seat mark in 2019, it built the Ram
Temple in Ayodhya. It also ensured the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir, and implemented the CAA”.