By IANS,
New Delhi: In his first meeting with party office-bearers since assuming charge as Bharatiya Janata Party president, Nitin Gadkari said Thursday that performance audit of office bearers would be the central focus during his term.
“The party president said that performance audit of office-bearers will be an important aspect (of his term),” BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said after the meeting.
Prasad said that Gadkari laid thrust on mutual cooperation and trust in his opening remarks.
“He (Gadkari) compared organisational strength to foundation of a building and called for collective efforts to make it strong,” the spokesman said.
The meeting also decided the BJP national council will meet in Indore next month. The two-day national council meet, which will formally endorse Gadkari’s name as party president for a three-year term, will be preceded by a meeting of national executive.
The office-bearers Thursday decided to launch a country-wide agitation on price-rise.
Prasad said demonstrations will be held in districts Jan 18-25 and state-level rallies would be organised Feb 1-15. “A national level rally will be held in Delhi in the second week of March against price rise,” he said.
Party veteran L.K. Advani, who delivered the closing remarks at the meeting, said top-level organisational changes had infused new hope in the party. “He (Advani) said the changes will strengthen the party,” according to Prasad.
Apart from criticising the ruling United Progressive Alliance for price rise, the meeting accused the government of lowering its guard in the fight against terrorism.
A resolution passed at the meeting said that terrorist attack at Lal Chowk in the heart of Srinagar was an onslaught on India’s sovereignty.
“While the terrorists are regrouping, the government of India is lowering its guard. The state government is not cooperating with the Army in its requirement for land. Both the centre and the state governments are romancing with ill-conceived ideas like autonomy and dilution of national sovereignty,” the resolution said.
The meeting also criticised the government for the escape of three terrorists in Delhi and charged it with not doing enough to safeguard interests of Indian students in Australia.
Party sources said that some changes were expected in the BJP team of office-bearers after formal endorsement of Gadkari as president at the national council meeting.