The BJP has changed the public’s perception towards politicians and politics, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a campaign rally for the BJP’s Saharanpur candidate Raghav Lakhanpal, he said, “A few years ago, there was a perception that politicians speak lies to seek votes and go away. They don’t care about the public or the nation. This was the common perception towards politicians and political parties.”
“We have changed this perception. It is our character that we do what we say. Earlier, it was the norm to think that a politician would lie but we changed this perception,” Singh added. The defence minister said political parties make big promises in their manifestos but forget those after assuming power.
“We have overcome the crisis of confidence in politics. We had promised to revoke Article 370 and we did it after assuming power. We had promised to abolish triple talaq and we did it after getting a majority in Parliament,” he said.
Singh, a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, said the perception of India has improved under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He claimed that Modi “halted” the war between Russia and Ukraine to ensure safe passage for Indian students stuck in the war-torn country.
“In Qatar, retired Navy personnel awarded capital punishment were released after being pardoned by the government there. This shows the stature of India in the world,” he added.
Qatar released eight jailed former Indian Navy personnel 46 days after their death sentences, handed out last October, were commuted to jail terms of varying duration.
Under Modi’s leadership, India — once an importer of defence technology — is now exporting those, Singh said.
The defence minister also praised Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for improving the state’s law and order. Hitting out at the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, the senior BJP leader said, “In 2017 (assembly elections), the Samajwadi Party and the Congress ran a narrative that the backward classes were angry with the BJP. In 2019 (Lok Sabha elections), they ran a narrative that the Brahmins were angry. During the 2022 assembly elections, they ran a narrative that the Jats were angry. Now, they are claiming that the Rajputs are angry.”
