New Delhi: BJP on Monday held a conclave of its
chief ministers here to discuss the status of governance in
the states ruled by the party and make necessary improvements
with a view to increasing the party's votebase to take on
Congress.
"Party president Nitin Gadkari, in his inaugural
address, said BJP governments in states ruled over 36 per cent
of the country's population. The percentage of Congress in
states comes to only 31 percent. BJP governments performed
really well in terms of accountability and good governance,"
party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
The two-day conclave is Gadkari's brainchild. He has
emphasised on good governance since he took over the reins of
the party in December 2009. A similar meeting was held last
year in Mumbai.
Gadkari hailed the performance of BJP-ruled states in
different fields, including in implementation of 20-point
programmes for people's welfare.
"But he also underlined that there is a need to make
improvements in certain fields, namely, irrigation,
agriculture, alleviating the lives of those Below the Poverty
Line, preventing infant mortality and so on," Prasad said,
quoting his party president.
Chief Ministers of Gujarat, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand were present in
the meeting. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan will join the meeting tomorrow. He stayed back in
Bhopal due to local body elections there.
Some state unit presidents and senior ministers from
NDA-ruled states are also participating in the conclave. Bihar
Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi was also present.
Corruption, an issue on which the main opposition has
taken on Congress for the last few months, also figured in
the discussions during the conclave.
BJP's campaign against corruption has been somewhat
blunted due to allegations of graft and nepotism against
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa.
"Gadkari said the increase in misuse of official
machinery against us is directly proportional to declining
image of the government of India," Prasad said.
BJP has been crying foul since 2009 against alleged
step-motherly treatment by the Congress-led UPA government to
the states where it is in power.
PTI
First Published: Monday, May 09, 2011, 21:33