AMN / Kozhikode
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that Muslims should not be treated as what he called items of vote market or substance of hate. Addressing the BJP Council meeting in Kozhikode, Mr Modi invoked Jan Sangh ideologue Deendayal Upadhyay to say that the Muslims should be treated as own people.
The Prime Minister said, his government’s mission of ‘sabka sath, sabka vikas’ is not a political slogan but a commitment to ensure welfare of the last man in the society. In his speech, Mr Modi spoke at length about secularism, balanced and inclusive growth and need for electoral reforms while paying tributes to Upadhyay on his 100th birth anniversary. He contended that the definition of secularism has been distorted.
Mr Modi said time has come to hold a wide consultations to see how the electoral system can be improved in the context of role of money and holding of simultaneous polls. He said time has come to see to it what good can be added to the electoral system and what can be removed from it. In the past, Mr Modi has spoken in favour of holding the Lok Sabha and state assembly polls simultaneously as continuous cycle of elections hamper government’s work.
The Prime Minister announced that India will ratify the Paris Climate Change agreement on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Mr Modi said he had chosen the date, which is next Sunday, as Mahatma Gandhi’s life was an example of minimum carbon footprint. Talking about the need to ratify the agreement , Mr Modi said there is a looming threat due to global warming to many coastal countries and cities.
During the Paris climate meet in December last, more than 190 nations had agreed on setting ambitious goals for capping global warming and funnelling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing climate catastrophe. The pact will come into force after it is ratified by at least 55 countries that account for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.