The Congress bereft of any idealogy as it was formed as part of a mass movement before Independence, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah said on Saturday.
Hitting out at dynastic rule, the BJP chief said that a party which was limited to one family's interests cannot work in the interest of the country.
Hailing the BJP for internal democracy, Shah cited his own example, saying he joined the BJP as a member in 1982 without any political background and still made his way to become the party president.
"When I joined party in 1982, I was a booth member, and without any political backing, I went on to become the party president from the booth president and this shows the proof of the internal democracy in the party," he said addressing a gathering in Jammu last evening.
"Can anybody tell me who will be BJP chief after me? Nobody can tell. But everybody can easily tell you who will be the party president after Sonia Gandhi (in the Congress)," he said.
Shah said that BJP chooses its leadership on the basis of work, dedication, vision and character from the grassroot level unlike other parties.
"This is the difference between the BJP and the rest of the parties. Take for example Samajwadi Party after Mulayam Singh Yadav. His son Akhilesh took over the party," he said.
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, senior leader L K Advani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were first generation leaders of the party and they did not have any political background. This was internal democracy, he said.
Shah said most parties had such a leadership but out of 1,650 political parties only the BJP and the CPI-M kept alive their internal democracy and constitutional values.
"Tell me what is the ideology of the Congress...before Independence, it was not a party based on ideology. It was a group of people with different ideologies who had come together for free India," he said.
"It was a special purpose vehicle for all of those with different ideologies including socialists, leftists, Hindus, Muslims etc. who wanted to see country independent," he said.
He claimed the Congress got limited to one family after Independence and even other parties got separated from it due to family politics.
Shah said unlike a party which is limited to one family's interests, only the party (the BJP) which is run on principals and upholds its internal constitutional values can work in the country's interests.
Shah said that the BJP was one of the 1,650 parties in the country which had come to the centre-stage of the national politics by the hard work of its workers. He said the key to the BJP's steady growth and progress is that it is an ideology-based party.
He said the party which has internal democracy will ensure real democracy in the country and keep the democratic values alive.
The parties which are for welfare of individual families and are run by them cannot ensure development of the country as they only undertake welfare of those individuals and families who run those parties.
He expressed hope that the internal democratic set up of the party which was formulated by Bhartiya Jan Sangh leader Deendayal Upadhyay would continue in its strongest form in the years to come.
He said under the parliamentary system, parties are bigger than individuals and stressed that for development and progress people should support the BJP as parties with ideologies work for the last man in the row.
Shah said four factors are needed to make a party powerful. First, the party's internal democracy should be very strong. Second, the party should be based on a strong ideology as the governments that are formed become the spokesperson of these ideologies rather than of individuals.
Third, the working of the party depends upon the mandate of the people which defines their working and fourth the leadership of the party decides its fate, he said.
Shah said the people should compare national and regional political parties with the BJP in terms of governance on the basis of these four points to see which party gives a powerful democracy and government and leads to a powerful country.
"From the Bhartiya Jan Sangh to the Janata Party and to the BJP--from 1980 till today--the party maintains in high spirits its internal democracy as per its constitution," he added.
He expressed his appreciation for the party workers for their struggle and sacrifices which, he said, have contributed immensely towards the growth of the party. He also paid homage to Shyam Prasad Mookerjee and Prem Nath Dogra.
Shah said that he was proud to be BJP's national president at a time when it was expanding by leaps and bounds. Recounting the party's electoral successes, he said the BJP was proud to have 1,397 MLAs, 310 MPs, 13 party-ruled states and 4 coalition governments in the country.
He asked the people to support the BJP and said Jammu and Kashmir, which is a border state, should become the power centre of the party and nationalist forces.
'Attempts to demoralise security forces in Kashmir won't be tolerated'
Shah said the government would not tolerate any attempt to "demoralise" the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir and asserted that it stood solidly behind them.
Expressing concern over the security situation in the stater, he said the BJP and the government was committed to restoring peace and normalcy. He also asked party cadres and leadership in the state not to get demoralised.
"The party and the government stand solidly behind the security forces and no attempt to demoralise them will be tolerated," Shah told party leaders and workers during a meeting.
He was received by BJP state President Sat Sharma, Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, state Cabinet ministers among others at the airport and was taken to the state guest house.
In his maiden visit to Jammu, Shah was accompanied by national general secretaries--Ram Madhav, Anil Jain, Ram Lal, and Union minister Jitendra Singh.
Immediately after his arrival, he held an interaction with party MLAs, MPs, state team members and others and exhorted them to develop a positive outlook so that they can carry a positive message to the karyakartas and general public.
Amit Shah asked his party members to strengthen the spirit of nationalism in Jammu and Kashmir and said tough action will be taken against anti- national elements in the state.
He advised ministers and other leaders to go beyond their respective constituencies, reach out to the people in the Valley and Ladakh region, listen to them and resolve their issues.
(With PTI inputs)
