Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed party workers across the country on a virtual platform. (Photo: ANI)

Emphasising on service mentality among party workers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said for the BJP, the organisation is not just a machine to win elections, but “it means serving the people, taking everybody along and ensuring everybody’s happiness and prosperity”.

Addressing party workers from across the country on a virtual platform, Modi lauded the party leaders and the workers for the welfare works they have done during the lockdown and the corona crisis, but reminded them that everyone of them is in the public life to serve. “Whenever the public demands us for things, we must understand that it expects us to deliver. The Covid-19 period has helped us understand this feeling better. The society gave us chance to serve,” Modi said.

He told the party workers: “For us, our organisation is not just a machine to win elections. For us our organisation means service. Our organisation means to us, taking everyone along. For us, our organisation means happiness of all and prosperity for all.”

Modi, who watched the presentation of seven states on their activities during the lockdown period at the function to review ‘Seva hi Sanghatan’ programme, asked the party to prepare digital book on the works they have done at the mandal, district, state and national level. The digital books which will record all the welfare and social activities as well as creative works from the respective areas would be an inspiration to the future generation, he said. The national-level digital book could be released on September 25, the birth anniversary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay.

At the function attended by BJP party president J P Nadda, party general secretaries Union Ministers including Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, the Prime Minister said: “At a time when everyone in the world is busy protecting themselves, you have given up your worries and dedicated yourself to the service of the poor and the needy. This is a great example of service,” he said, adding that if it happened in any western country it would been heaped praises by everyone.

The Prime Minister said the BJP has been following the same principles its founding fathers had envisaged for it. “We considered power as the medium of service. We never made power our medium of profit. Selfless service has been our resolve, and that has been our value,”he said. He specially praised Nadda, who he said has been providing food packets from his own house for the poor throughout the lockdown period.

Modi also pointed out that the BJP has turned the crisis period into an opportunity.”We will remember Covid-19 pandemic as the transforming stage for the BJP, digitally. Today, a lot of our workers have got better on the digital platforms,” he said adding that working with a common goal during the crisis period has strengthened the organisation. “When we do this kind of work, a team spirit is born. Such works also create new possibilities of person development and personality development,” he said.

While reiterating his seven-point code for party workers — sevabhav (service), santulan (balance), saiyam (restraint), sakaratmak (constructive), samvedana (sensitivity) and samvad (dialogue) — he pointed out that the BJP is the party that is represented by the cross section of the society. He said the party has 52 Dalit MPs, 43 tribals and 113 from backward classes.

Modi also reminded the party leaders that in the upcoming festival season, they should not let people drop the guard and continue to protect them from the virus as the threat is still not over.

The state units of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, Karnataka, Delhi, Assam and Uttar Pradesh made presentations of their social and welfare activities. While noting that the states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have bigger challenges due to the return of migrant workers, the Prime Minister urged the party to extend their help and support to the government. He said the party workers should be ready for helping the poor irrespective of being in power or in opposition.

In the meeting, Nadda as well as party general secretaires Bhupender Yadav and Arun Singh lauded Modi for the steps taken during the Covid pandemic – while the timely lockdown has saved millions of lives the economic package is to give support to millions, they said.