Freedom of expression and nationalism co-exist: BJP

New Delhi

The issue of nationalism continued to take the centre stage in the deliberations after party chief Amit Shah set the tone in his inaugural address yesterday saying BJP will not tolerate any attack on the nation, with the dominant mood in BJP being to put the Congress in a corner on the issue.

Briefing the media on the resolution, Union Minister Arun Jaitley said 'freedom of expression and nationalism do necessarily co-exist' and the Constitution gives full freedom for expressing dissent and disagreement, but not the country's destruction.

The Finance Minister, a key party strategist, also targeted Congress over its political strength, saying the main opposition party has 'lowered' its stature and was 'content to be a tail ender of any alliance' in states like Bihar, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Though issues of government formation in Uttarakhand, where Congress government is facing rebellion in its ranks, and Jammu and Kashmir did not come up for discussion at the meet, Jaitley said the resolution emphasised the party's commitment to the 'agenda of governance' in J&K.

Talks between BJP and PDP for reviving their coalition government in the J&K have fallen through but the saffron party has insisted that its doors are not shut on its former partner but it will have to stop putting more conditions.

"There was a time when the country was being governed without any sense of direction. There was uncertainty and lack of purpose. Now we have a government with a determined leadership, nationalist policies and progressive governance," Jaitley said.

The resolution also spoke about economically and socially inclusive policies of the government, its thrust on infrastructure development and good governance, he said.