"We aren't the ones who sit in AC rooms and issue fatwas": PM Modi

BHOPAL: Ahead of the Madhya Pradesh assembly election to be held later this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) booth workers are its biggest power as they make sure to reach out to the people at the grassroots level in order to make the party the biggest in the country.

"BJP's biggest power is its workers. They have made the party the largest in the country. I thank JP Nadda for organising this event today through which I am able to virtually address around 10 lakh booth workers of the BJP virtually. No such virtual programme has ever taken place in the history of any political party," PM Modi said while interacting with BJP booth workers in Bhopal.

These workers have been selected from all the states through a process defined by the party president JP Nadda via the Namo App. For 10 days, these workers will interact with boot-level BJP workers in election-bound states and share their experiences and best practices.

The exercise is being done to activate the party workers at the lower level five months before the upcoming assembly elections. PM Modi further said that Madhya Pradesh played a significant role in making the BJP the biggest party in the world.

"We are not the workers who sit in the air-conditioned rooms and issue fatwas. We go to the people and remain determined round the clock," Modi added. Earlier in the day, PM flagged off five Vande Bharat Express trains from the Rani Kamalapati Railway Station in Madhya Pradesh's capital city Bhopal.

"I congratulate the people of Jharkhand, Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Karnataka for this modern connectivity. I congratulate the people of Madhya Pradesh for getting two Vande Bharat Express trains today. The journey from Bhopal to Jabalpur will be faster and more comfortable now. Vande Bharat train will boost connectivity in the state," PM Modi said.

Ahead of the flagging-off ceremony, the Prime Minister interacted with crew members of the train and some children onboard the Vande Bharat train at Rani Kamlapati railway station.

Five Vande Bharat Express trains which were flagged off by the PM include -- Rani Kamalapati-Jabalpur Vande Bharat Express; Khajuraho-Bhopal-Indore Vande Bharat Express; Madgaon (Goa)-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express; Dharwad-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express; and Hatia-Patna Vande Bharat Express.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Governor Mangubhai C Patel, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishaw and Jyotiraditya Scindia were present at the event.