Bengaluru: Clearly determined to strengthen the BJP's presence in Karnataka, party national president, Amit Shah warned his MPs and MLAs on Saturday that unless they enrolled at least 100 members each they would not be given any party posts or responsibilities.
In an hour-long closed door meeting with the MLAs and MPs, he also said that inactive members could say goodbye to tickets for contesting elections in future.
Mr Shah made it clear he expected party legislators and MPs to visit booths and villages as part of the membership drive although they could enroll members through their mobile phones as well.
To make sure they toed the line, the BJP president warned that he would get reports from his own sources in the state about their involvement in the membership campaign.
"We were always expected to enroll members, but now our national president has made it compulsory for us to enroll at least 25 members in a booth and 100 members in our constituencies," said an MLA, who was present at the meeting.
Party workers have for their part, been asked to enroll 10 lakh members by January 11 and 25 lakh by January 25 through a mega membership drive conducted on mobiles as well as the conventional way.
Later, at a core committee meeting with senior BJP leaders, Mr. Shah insisted on an aggressive membership campaign in the state and enrolment of one crore members by April end.
BJP national president Amit Shah has dismissed the Congress allegation that his Karnataka visit was aimed to destabilise the state government and urged the voters in state to join hands with BJP to ensure ‘Congress-mukt Karnataka’.
Addressing his maiden press conference here on Saturday, Mr Shah attacked Siddaramaiah-led Congress government for failing on all fronts.
“Karnataka economy has suffered under Congress misrule, growth rate has come down five per cent, while it had reached ten per cent during the previous BJP rule.
Congress government is non-performing, corrupt and has failed to ensure law and order in the state,” Mr Shah said.
“Congress government in the state has failed to represent the cause of 6.2 crore people and instead indulged in sectarian populism.
The mandate of the people is being squandered by the Siddaramaiah Government,” he added. The BJP President said his party will take up all these issues before the people.
The party’s state unit will approach 25 lakh people directly and explain them about Congress misrule, he added.
He criticised the state government for its attempt to bring in the controversial amendment to the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill in Belagavi Session. Following stiff opposition from the BJP, the government was forced to retreat, Mr Shah pointed out.
He also took a dig at the Congress for withdrawing the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Protection Bill of 2010.
It is nothing but a sectarian agenda, he remarked. Answering a question regarding BJP’s campaign for Congress-mukt Bharat and Congress-mukt Karnataka, Shah said that Congress-mukt Bharat is only meant to keep Congress out of power and not from country. “We need space for opposition in the state as well as in the country,” Mr Shah said.
